When Trump left office in 2021, he bequeathed Biden a nation mired in a deadly pandemic, which he had managed poorly. Biden led America out of it, and to an economic recovery featuring full employment, rising wages, expanded worker rights, and near-normal inflation. Voters punished his stand-in, Harris, for it. And guess who will steal credit for it all? A few days after the election, MSNBC said in this article,
“In what will be a generous gift to his successor, President Joe Biden beat inflation, brought down gas prices, created millions of jobs, spurred strong growth, boosted retirement savings and revived American manufacturing — just in time for Donald Trump to take credit for all of it.”
Biden was a “highly successful president,” MSNBC says (which I believe is true), and added, “The fact that he is widely viewed as a failure shows just how warped our political and informational systems are,” which is hard to dispute. People who only watch Fox “News” have a warped view of politics and public policy.
Trump is unlikely to be as successful as Biden. Before the election, pollsters said the economy was voters’ top issue and were upset about inflation. But Trump’s economic policies, if fully enacted, will undo some of Biden’s economic gains and make things worse.
Tax cuts will explode deficits, stoking inflation. Pushing for lower interest rates will have inflation effects. Tariffs, if imposed, will be a hefty tax on many consumer goods (see story here).
Mass deportations, if carried out, will choke off economic growth and cause labor shortages in agriculture and construction that push up food prices and cripple homebuilding (see story here).
Biden is gifting Trump a thriving economy. Trump’s misguided policies won’t bite immediately. But they will in time to blame the next Democratic administration.