“To hear President-elect Donald J. Trump tell it, he is about to take over a nation ravaged by crisis, a desolate hellscape of crime, chaos and economic hardship,” the New York Times’ White House correspondent wrote on Sunday, January 5, 2025 (read story here).
But the country Trump “will inherit from President Biden … is actually in better shape than … bequeathed to any newly elected president since George W. Bush came into office in 2001.”
No American troops are in combat. Murders are way down, drug overdose deaths are declining, illegal immigration at the southern border is less than when Trump left office, and the economy “is as good as it gets, and the envy of the rest of the world.”
The economy is growing, companies are hiring, wages are rising, unemployment is historically low, domestic oil production is at an all-time high, there are more manufacturing jobs, and inflation is returning to normal.
Trump has politically capitalized by lying about the economy, crime, and immigration. But that could prove a trap for Republicans, because with little room for improvement, voters won’t see much change. If anything, his policies likely will make the economy worse.
Then, when Republicans have to face the 2026 midterms and the 2028 election, and voters ask “what have you done for me,” they won’t have an answer.