Out of all the unbelievable claims made by Donald Trump about his administration’s “achievements,” his economic claims top the list. On Wednesday, he chose to invoke the “tariff shelf” again to prove America is thriving.
During a press meeting on December 3, Trump said his aides are suddenly “finding” money that “they never knew existed.” And he had the figures ready, too. Claiming it’s all thanks to his tariffs, he said that his staff found “$30 billion the other day.” And just like every other conversation he has in his head, they called him saying, “Sir.” Anytime Trump quotes a conversation where someone calls him “sir,” remember the lie detector goes bright red.
They’re finding money in our country now that they never knew existed. The other day; $30 billion. Where did it come from? I said, ‘Why don’t you check the tariff shelf?’ They said, ‘Sir, that tariff hasn’t started yet. It doesn’t start until January.’ I said, ‘No, it started two months ago.’ They call back, ‘Sir, you’re right it was from tariffs.’
Trump’s magical “tariff shelf” first appeared in August
And this isn’t the first time Trump has cited the same conversation with his so-called staff. But every time he quotes it, the conversation seems to have happened “the other day.” He first invented this “tariff shelf” story four months back during an Aug. 14 speech. While bragging about bringing in “trillions of dollars in tariffs” to the country, he said:
They say, ‘Why are we taking in so much money?’ Last week, they found $29 billion, and they couldn’t figure out where it came from. I said, ‘Check the tariff shelf,’ and they said, ‘How did you know that’s where it came from?’ (via HuffPost)
So, in August, the tariff shelf had $29 billion just lying unaccounted for. Now, it’s $30 billion. But wait, before you laugh, it gets better. Almost two months after his September speech, he cited the number to be $31 billion.
The money in the shelf changes every time he speaks
During a military gathering in Quantico, Virginia, on September 30, he recited the same story, but a longer version. Not to mention his stories always make his staff sound dumbfounded and lost:
‘Sir, we found $31 billion, and we’re not sure from where it came,’ A gentleman came in, a financial guy. I said, ‘Well, what does that mean?’ He said, ‘We don’t know where it came.’ I said, ‘Check the tariff shelf.’ ‘No, sir, the tariffs haven’t started in that sector yet.’ I said, ‘Yes, they have, they started seven weeks ago, check it.’ Comes back 20 minutes later, ‘Sir, you’re right, it came from tariffs. $31 billion.’
In short, Trump repeatedly asserts that his staff at Treasury, USTR, and Customs do not understand tariffs. The only smart guy in his administration is him. Additionally, there exists somewhere a mysterious tariff shelf that appeared without anyone’s knowledge, and it’s overflowing with money. If anyone wants to believe that, they’re free to.
But according to economists and trade experts, tariff revenue is predictable and part of annual Treasury budgets. There’s no possibility that it would be magically “found,” as Trump suggests. On top of it, the numbers Trump cites keep shifting. But we can’t blame him; it’s miraculous enough that he remembers the same story word-for-word to repeat even after months.
Regardless, it’s time his script writer writes him another story. It’s getting a little too easy to prove this one’s a lie.
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