Send This To Your Grandma, Dad, Or MAGA-Supporting Family When They Ask You How Trump's Economy Is Going

Yahoo

01-05-2025

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Hi there, my name is Alexa, and for each month of Donald Trump's presidency, I'm tracking the real numbers achieved by his administration on BuzzFeed.
(AKA, the unemployment rate, cost of eggs, gas prices, inflation, the Dow Jones, whether citizens received a stimulus check, and Trump's overall approval rating.)
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Why am I doing this? Well, three months ago I said it's because Trump and his campaign positioned itself, and perhaps largely won on, being the "economy vote" — a title that seems ironic now as we appear to be hurtling straight toward a recession.
Now, I'd like to add an amendment to the margin: "Calling out the gaslighting."
Because, if you didn't know, our 78-year-old commander in chief has been claiming "groceries are down" in price and that tags on eggs, specifically, have dropped "87 percent."
One look at your latest re-stock receipt, I'm sure, is likely to tell a different story — and so, too, will the data in this report.
Trump: Grocery prices have come down. Just two months ago when I was with you, people were complaining about the cost of eggs, but now they're down 87%. So, we did a great job. pic.twitter.com/LoUs7HQ6JI
— Simon Hulbert, CFA, Ph.D. (@DrSimonhulbertt) April 24, 2025
CNN / Twitter: @DrSimonhulbertt
Regardless of who is sitting in the Oval Office — whether they pledge to lower grocery prices and end wars on day one or not — I think we can all agree that holding candidates-turned-presidents accountable for their promises is important.
And if the numbers turn in Trump's favor, I'll continue to report on it and cheer for a thriving economy.
So without further ado, here's how Trump's March played out:
Note: Data on inflation is released weeks after each month has ended, so our reports will look at the previous month's numbers.
Considering the Trump administration's mass government layoffs affected over 60,000 federal workers, I admittedly expected a larger increase in unemployment; however, it may simply be too soon to tell, as those former employees enter the pool of 7.1 million Americans out of work.
Unemployment hovered around the 4% mark throughout Biden's last month as president and Trump's first few weeks, but it's officially bumped up to 4.2% under Trump in March.
Related: Donald Trump Supporters Are Waking Up To The Reality Of Their Ballot Choices, And The Stories Are A Loooooot
Who knew 2025 would be marked as the year we all learned EXACTLY how often we use eggs? My local store's price seemingly refuses to dip below $8.99 per carton of 12, but the national average jumped from $5.90 in February to $6.23 in March.
Unfortunately, the US Agriculture Department predicts the price of eggs can increase by more than 40% this year.
Perhaps a larger necessity than eggs, the price of gas has seen a month-over-month increase as well. For all the commuters out there, your pockets have likely felt a little lighter as the US Energy Information Administration reports March gas prices were about $3.223 on average.
Related: Donald Trump Supporters Are Losing Their Minds Over The New Trump Tariffs, And It's Exactly The Meltdown We All Saw Coming
Look, our first bit of good news!
As the world braces against the back-and-forth of global tariffs, it seems the economy has to budge on something. Luckily, that something appears to be inflation, which dropped from 2.8% in February to 2.4% in March.
(Although I hate to act as the Ghost of Inflation's Future, experts say any progress made in inflation is at risk as the end of Trump's 90-day tariff pause looms.)
Well, well, well. Trump's first 50 days crafted a podium-worthy debut as he experienced one of the worst stock market starts for a president since 1950.
Previously, the 4.42% gain seen as a new president was ushered in during January has since fallen by 1% in February and seen an even more drastic drop of 4.3% in March.
And if you're sitting there thinking, "Hmmmm, somehow I expected it to be worse, considering all the retirement account ruckus," hold on to your hat! March only accounts for the initial trade war fallout. The April dip is DIPPING. (I'm furiously writing next month's edition as we speak).
No, there is still no chat of a stimulus check. But hey! The Department of Education recently announced that it will start referring student loans that have gone into default to collections beginning May 5. So that's bound to help struggling Americans, right? ... Right?
And finally:
According to Gallup, Trump's approval rating took another dip. This time, it sat at 43% in March. I wonder how rising costs will affect this in April?
Those are our stats for March. Now, let's look at comments we received on our last edition in a little section I like to call ✨Comment Corner✨.
Comment Corner #1:
It's a bit trickier than Biden vs. Trump's fault when it comes to our current economy:
As with every president, Joe Biden inherited Donald Trump's economy when he walked into the 2021 White House doors. We were in the throes of COVID-19, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, but gas prices had previously fallen as people feared leaving far from home and commuted less before return-to-office orders. At the same time, businesses also shuttered. It was all very new and strange.
By the time Joe left —shortly after the US government officially declared an end to the COVID-19 pandemic — he had become the first US president to see monthly gains in employment throughout his entire presidency, and unemployment saw a 54-year low in 2023. However, it's undeniable that his presidency also saw inflation, inflation, inflation. And just as Trump's lower cost of living can be partially attributed to the pandemic's aftershock, so, too, can the later call-and-response rise in cost of living, experts say.
TLDR: The pandemic partially caused wins and losses for both Trump and Biden. We saw what Biden did with what Trump gave him — now it's time to see how Trump handles the good and bad of his inheritance.
Comment Corner #2:
While I'm certainly not a pro-economist, J.P. Morgan recently raised the US's odds of entering a recession in 2025 from its previously predicted 40% to 60%.
It's daunting — especially if you, like me, can't help but doomscroll. To help, BuzzFeed spoke to finance influencer Tori Dunlap on how to prepare for hard times.
And if you'd like a little real-world application with a dash of humor, here are some unhinged ways people say they saved money during the 2008 recession.
Comment Corner #3:
Shoutout to my fellow economy hate-watchers who inspired us to turn these reports into a newsletter, delivered right to your inbox so you never miss a post.
Subscribe to our monthly report here. See you next month!
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