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.
Related: "I Am So Torn With What You Are Doing" — 11 Posts From MAGA Business Owners Who Are So Close To Getting It
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.
Also in In the News: People Can't Believe This "Disgusting" Donald Trump Jr. Post About Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis Is Real
Also in In the News: Miss USA's 2024 "National Costume" Has Been Revealed, And It's Obviously An Interesting Choice
Also in In the News: One Body Language Expert Spotted Something Very Telling When Donald Trump "Held His Own Hand" At His Recent Press Conference
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hundreds of NYC students walk out of school to protest Trump after ICE arrests 20-year-old Venezuelan classmate
About 500 Big Apple students staged a walkout Tuesday after federal immigration agents detained a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant who had been attending a Bronx high school. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an Ellis Prep Academy student identified only as Dylan on May 21 when he showed up for a mandatory immigration court hearing, reported. 'It seems like a dirty game on their part,' Raiza, Dylan's mother, told Chalkbeat. 'When someone appears in front of a judge, it's because they don't have any criminal record, they want to do the right thing,' she told the outlet. 'The only thing he wants is to study.' Dylan had graduated high school in Venezuela but was looking to improve his English and prepare for college at the academy, which is a school for English language learners and older students, the outlet said. He had been living with his mother and two younger siblings, who also fled Venezuela, the report said. More than 500 students skipped school at around noon Thursday to attend an anti-Trump protest in Union Square park, blasting the president for his hard-line immigration and border policies. 'A lot of my friends from my school are not citizens or even permanent citizens of the United States and I want to protect them, said Shera Zhou, 18, a senior at Stuyvesant High School. 'I want their voices to be heard even though they can't be here. 'I really think everyone should have the right to stay in the United States because we are a country built on immigrants.' Nava Litt, a Bronx High School of Science senior, said the Trump administration was taking actions that were 'undemocratic,' threatening free speech rights and education. 'We can't just sit by and let that happen,' Litt, 18, said. 'Something that we think is a big concern right now is that students are being detained by ICE for exercising their free speech rights.' Dylan had turned himself in at the US border in April 2024, applying for asylum through the temporary protected status program initiated by the Biden Administration. The Trump administration has since scrapped that program after President Trump campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration. The courts have blocked or ruled against some deportations that are enforced without adequate notice or due process but the repeal of temporary protected status remains in effect. Chancellor Aviles-Ramos has also called out the detention. 'New York City Public Schools stands firmly with our students, including our immigrant students, and our schools will always be safe spaces for them,' the chancellor said in a statement. 'Our hearts go out to the student who was detained by ICE, and we are deeply saddened for their family. While this incident did not occur on school grounds, we want to reassure our families: we will continue to speak out and advocate for the safety, dignity, and rights of all of our students.' Aviles-Ramos said the city public school system will support 'every child and family — regardless of immigration status' and 'we encourage families to continue to send their children to school.' Mayor Eric Adams sidestepped the controversy during an unrelated news conference Tuesday, declining to question or criticize the student's detention. 'I want to be extremely clear. That did not happen in a school,' Adams said. 'We do not coordinate with ICE on civil detainers. I think that is a question for federal authorities.' ICE had no immediate comment.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democratic attorneys general outline response to federal government during Seattle town hall
Jun. 2—Just over four months into President Donald Trump's second administration, the rate and frequency with which Democratic attorneys general have challenged federal policy has greatly outpaced that of his first term in office. In the past 19 weeks, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown has filed 20 lawsuits against the federal government and indicated more are likely to follow soon. According to Brown, Washington had filed two lawsuits at a similar point in Trump's first term. The lawsuits have frequently been brought by multistate coalitions, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield each joining Washington in more than a dozen of the cases. Ahead of a town hall event Monday, the three attorneys general said the actions are part of a coordinated effort. "A very increased type of action being brought by the states," Brown said during a news conference Monday evening. "That is reflective of one, being extremely prepared for this moment, two, the collaboration amongst the states, and three, a level of lawlessness and recklessness by the Trump administration that was not there the first time. And we as attorneys general need to respond." The Community Impact Town Hall on Monday offered a forum for community members to voice their concerns over the loss of funding or other cuts to federal programs and ask about their state's response to the Trump administration. Audience questions included how states could ensure funds for medical research are properly distributed and what steps the states have taken to restrict local law enforcement from enforcing immigration law. Like Washington, both Oregon and California have long had state laws that limit the amount of information local authorities can provide immigration officials. California's law, Bonta said, was challenged during the first Trump administration, with the state successfully arguing "it was an unlawful violation of the tenth amendment for the Trump administration to try and conscript or commandeer our resources for our local law enforcement to be used for immigration enforcement." In recent months, the Keep Washington Working Act has frequently drawn ire from Republican lawmakers and prompted a Congressional investigation. The 2019 law restricts local law enforcement from using local resources to help federal officials enforce immigration law and prevents local law enforcement from sharing nonpublic information with federal officials, except in certain scenarios. Last month, the three states filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation, alleging that both agencies had recently sought to stipulate that a state must cooperate with federal immigration officials to receive federal funding. "When they try to take the funding away to compel action, we will stand in place to protect our sanctuary state laws that exist up and down the West Coast," Rayfield said. "I feel very fortunate, again, to be on the West Coast." It appears that more lawsuits challenging federal immigration efforts could come in the near future. Late last week, the Department of Homeland Security published a list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" that it claimed do not fully cooperate with federal immigration law. Trump, who ordered the publication of the list, has said those on the list risk the loss of federal funds. According to the list, qualification for the list was "determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens." The list, however, received immediate pushback from some of those who appeared on it. On Saturday, Kieran Donahue, president of the National Sheriffs' Association, said in a statement that the list "was created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation. Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do to avoid this arbitrary label." "This decision by DHS could create a vacuum of trust that may take years to overcome," Donahue said, adding the list should be taken down "immediately." While the list was taken down Sunday, an archived version shows that Washington, along with 35 counties and five cities within the state, were among the more than 500 jurisdictions it mentioned. Both California and Oregon also appeared on the list. On Monday, Brown called the list "laughable" and said it "really adds to the fact that this is arbitrary and capricious action by the Trump administration." "We as attorneys general have to take those threats seriously and reaffirm state sovereignty," Brown said. "Each of our states has adopted different policies over how local and state officials can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials. We do that to keep the public safe and make sure that people who are the victims of crime can cooperate fairly and freely with law enforcement without fear of immigration enforcement actions against them."
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mayor Eric Adams changes course, sticks up for 20-year-old high school student rounded up by ICE — after wave of criticism
Mayor Eric Adams belatedly offered support Monday for a Big Apple high schooler rounded up in President Trump's deportation blitz — reversing his original assertion that the Venezuelan migrant's arrest by ICE wouldn't discourage other migrants from seeking city services. The city's top lawyer filed a legal brief backing Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who was detained in a Manhattan courthouse on May 21 after attending a mandatory immigration hearing. Contreras' arrest drew protests from hundreds of his fellow high school students last week, as well as a wave of criticism for Adams after he conspicuously declined to question the migrant's detention. The legal brief sounded the alarm that ICE's tactics threaten to deter people from participating in the court system — a key promise of New York City's sanctuary policies. 'The implications threaten to reach well beyond the immigration arena and reach the countless other matters affecting public welfare that require our residents to appear in court every day,' the brief states. Mayor Eric Adams, in a statement echoing the brief's arguments, said Contreras was punished for following the law. 'Dylan Lopez Contreras was going through the exact legal proceeding that we encourage new arrivals to go through in order to be able to work and provide for their families — and even accessed the center that we created for migrants to be able to avoid city shelters and become independent,' Adams said. But Adams sang a different tune last week when asked by The Post whether Contreras' arrest would discourage other migrants from going through the court system. 'No, I don't,' Adams said. A City Hall spokesperson tried to walk back Adams' initial comments, asserting the mayor was speaking with limited information. Adams has consistently voiced support for most sanctuary city policies that he maintains will ensure anyone, regardless of immigration status, will continue to call police and respond to court, if ordered. The mayor has also pushed to roll back certain sanctuary city policies to increase cooperation with ICE. Hizzoner's openness to reopening a long-shuttered ICE office on Rikers Island and allowing city officials to collaborate with the feds on civil immigration enforcement coincided with his cozying up to Trump and other MAGA-aligned leaders. Contreras' immigration case — which is unfolding in Pennsylvania federal court — potentially puts Adams in the tough spot of appeasing his Trump-friendly allies and assuaging fears of immigrant New Yorkers worried about being unfairly caught in deportation dragnets. 'Dylan has done everything legally necessary to satisfy his immigration process, yet was kidnapped by ICE right in front of his mother after attending his scheduled immigration court hearing,' said Power Malu, president of compassion and Candice Braun, chief empathy officer of Artists Athletes Activists/ROCC NYC, in a statement. 'On the one hand, the mayor of our sanctuary city is encouraging people to continue using public services and on the other hand he is not willing to stand up and protect our residents from wrongful ICE apprehensions.'
