Send This To Your Grandma, Dad, Or MAGA-Supporting Family When They Ask You How Trump's Economy Is Going
Want to know if Trump's economy is actually doing as well as he promised? Subscribe to the Economy Hate Watch newsletter and never miss our monthly update.
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.)
View this photo on Instagram
Why am I doing this? Because Trump and his campaign positioned itself, and perhaps largely won on, being the "economy vote" — a title that seems ironic now as his global tariff war seems to be hurtling us straight toward a recession...
...and significantly steeper prices.
All of which, Trump referred to as a "transition period" when pressed about how his tariffs could financially hurt Americans — a far cry from his original campaign promise to 'immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.'
So without further ado, here's how Trump's April played out:
Note: Data on inflation is released a few weeks after each month has ended, so our reports will look at the previous month's numbers.
Unemployment has been sneaky under the Trump administration. As everyone is understandably busy arguing about tariffs and the rising cost of living, absent are larger conversations about unemployment. Perhaps we've all been desensitized following the mass government layoffs earlier this year.
Regardless, April saw unemployment stand firm at a raised 4.2%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Related: 18 Major Global Events That American Media Is Ignoring Right Now, And Why They Actually Matter To Us
As a professional doomscroller, I find laughs in odd places, including in this clip of Trump saying, "You can have all the eggs you want. We have too many eggs. In fact, if anything, the prices are getting too low."
If you've been to any grocery store, then you KNOW that eggs are STILL wayyyy more expensive than they used to be. Long gone are the days of a $2.99 carton of 12 eggs. Instead, carts hosted a dozen eggs for an average of $5.12 a pop.
Trump: "You can have all the eggs you want. We have too many eggs. In fact, if anything the prices are getting too low." pic.twitter.com/xfYlwmHda1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 18, 2025
Newsmax / Twitter: @atrupar
Gas hasn't changed too much throughout Trump's presidency so far. On average, it's continued to fall around the $3.20 mark, with this month clocking in at about $3.299 per gallon according to the US Energy Information Administration.
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Hey! Some good news! Inflation has fallen for the third month in a row. CNBC reports an inflation rate of 2.3% in April (but you might not be feeling it, as tariff surcharges tack extra fees on to your regular shopping).
YIKES. YIKES. YIKES. At the beginning of April, data showed that Trump's stock market had one of the worst starts under any president since 1950.
Following Trump's "Liberation Day" and tariff policies, the market became so volatile that Wikipedia now has an official 2025 Stock Market Crash page.
So it should come as no surprise that the Dow Jones fell once again in April — this time by 2.9% according to Statmuse.
Trump's first 100 days have passed, and still no stimmy in sight.
There were, however, reports that the Trump administration was reportedly considering offering Americans a $5,000 baby bonus to help increase birth rates in the US. That's about $277.78 a year! I'm sure that'll help cover the rising cost of childcare, food, rent, college, extracurriculars, healthcare, and everything else that comes with raising a child. *Sarcasm overload*
And finally, we have Trump's approval rating. In April alone, Gallup put his rating at 44%. BUT! If you're looking at the approval rating for his first 100 days in office overall, the number dips to 40%, according to the Pew Research Center.
Either way, more than half of the country is not satisfied.
Those are our stats for April. 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:
I love when y'all give me assignments.
As a base number, Biden closed out his final full month as president in December with 100% ground beef costing an average of $5.58 per pound in the US, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trump's numbers (including his 10ish days in January) so far are:
January 2025: $5.50 per pound
February 2025: $5.74 per pound
March 2025: $5.85 per pound
April 2025: $6.00 per pound
Comment Corner #2:
Hi! You must be new here. This report is meant to serve as a log of Trump's entire second-term presidency from Day One. I didn't set out thinking a country's entire economy could be perfected in a few months.
I also didn't set out believing a few months was all Trump would need to put the US at a "very high" risk of recession, according to leading economists.
A recession hurts us all. I am far from giddy watching my grandfather continuously tack on more years of work despite being far past retirement age. It's an ever-more common experience, and one I hope future generations can avoid. But we're not exactly trending in that direction.
Comment Corner #3:
I am always at your service. 🫡
See y'all next month!
Want to know if Trump's economy is actually doing as well as he promised? Subscribe to the Economy Hate Watch newsletter and never miss our monthly update.
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