Trump traps liberals in their own lies about his presidency
Progressives were wrong about the Trump economy
Progressives have persistently forecast imminent economic doom since Trump was reelected in November.
In April, the Associated Press reported: "President Donald Trump has panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II."
That same month, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, declared that "Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose." And The American Prospect, in an article headlined, "The Great Trump Crash?," predicted that tariffs would "mean an instant, near-total halt of trade between China and the U.S."
None of those dire predictions proved to be true. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recently reached record highs. Employers added more jobs than expected last month. The inflation rate ticked higher in June, but remains far below the 40-year high that Americans suffered under during the Biden administration.
Opinion: Liberals call Trump a clown. But he's winning where it matters most.
Progressives' scary predictions about international affairs also have proven to be false. Trump was supposed to be the green light Putin needed to pummel Ukraine into submission. Trump's America first stance also was supposed to embolden China and splinter NATO.
In reality, Trump has been a peacemaker, pushing for meaningful ceasefires in conflicts from Gaza to Pakistan, Ukraine to Iran.
Trump's efforts in the Middle East alone are worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump set back Iran's development of nuclear weapons, then forged a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Diplomatic efforts to broker a lasting peace in Gaza also continue.
Opinion: Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize. He's achieved more than those who've won before.
If there is to be a World War III, it doesn't appear imminent. Once again, progressives' claims about Trump were nothing but fearmongering.
Democracy remains strong with Trump in the White House
Probably the biggest lie the left has told about Trump is that his election would be an "extinction-level threat" for democracy.
Six months into Trump's second term, I'm happy to report that democracy is still alive and well. Just look at recent headlines: New York Democrats exercised their right to vote for a socialist to run America's largest city. Millions of Americans marched in "No Kings" protests to criticize the president. Other protestors have taken to the streets to demonstrate against enforcement of our nation's immigration laws.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.
Despite liberals' oft-repeated fears, the evidence overwhelmingly points to a healthy democracy, where Americans vote for the candidates of their choice and raise their voices to call out politicians and policies they don't like.
Trump isn't a king; he's a duly elected president chosen by a healthy plurality of voters. His election was democracy in action.
It's not just that progressives' worst fears turned out to be far from reality. The left tried to gaslight Americans into believing they'd regret voting for Trump.
The fearmongering on the left was wrong, then and now. And I won't let liberals forget it.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Australia to reduce US beef import restrictions denounced by Trump as a ban
Australia will reduce restrictions on U.S. beef imports after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized what he described as an Australian ban on the meat, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said. Collins said Thursday that relaxing the restrictions designed to keep Australia free of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, among its cattle herds would not compromise biosecurity. 'Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this,' Collins said in a statement. Australia has allowed imports of beef grown in the United States since 2019. But Australia has not allowed imports from the U.S. of beef sourced from Canada or Mexico because of the disease risk. But the U.S. has recently introduced additional movement controls that identify and trace all cattle from Mexico and Canada to their farms of origin. US cattle import controls satisfy Australian authorities Australian authorities were 'satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the U.S. effectively manage biosecurity risks,' Collins said. The timing of the new, reduced restrictions has not been finalized. Trump attacked Australian import restrictions on U.S. beef when he announced in April that tariffs of at least 10% would be placed on Australian imports, with steel and aluminum facing a 50% tariff. 'Australia bans — and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef,' Trump told reporters then. 'Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now,' Trump added. Lawmaker fears appeasing Trump endangers Australian cattle industry Opposition lawmaker David Littleproud suspected the government was endangering Australia's cattle industry to appease Trump. 'I want to see the science and it should be predicated on science. I'm suspicious of the speed at which this has been done,' Littleproud told reporters. 'We need to give confidence to the industry, but also to you (the public): this is not just about animal welfare, this is about human welfare, this is about BSE potentially coming into this country and having a human impact, so I think it's important the government's very transparent about the science and I don't think it's even beyond the question to have an independent panel review that science to give confidence to everybody,' he added. Around 70% of Australian beef is exported. Producers fear that export market would vanish overnight if diseases including mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease infected Australian cattle. Will Evans, chief executive of Cattle Australia who represents more than 52,000 grass-fed beef producers across the nation, said he was confident the agriculture department had taken a cautious approach toward U.S. imports. 'The department's undertaken a technical scientific assessment and we have to put faith in them. They've made this assessment themselves. They've said: 'We've looked at this, we've looked at the best science, this is a decision that we feel comfortable with,'' Evans told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'When you have a 75 billion (Australian dollar, $50 billion) industry relying on them not making this mistake, I'm sure they've been very cautious in their decision-making,' he added. US beef prices rise because of drought and a domestic cattle shortage Beef prices have been rising in the U.S. due to factors that include drought and shrinking domestic herd numbers. The average price of a pound of ground beef in the U.S. rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound. Australia's opposition to any U.S. tariffs will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secures his first face-to-face meeting with Trump. Albanese and Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada last month, but the U.S. president left early. Albanese expects the pair will meet this year, although no date has been announced. The two countries have had a bilateral free trade deal for 20 years and the U.S. has maintained a trade surplus with Australia for decades.
Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: How Donald Trump spurred stunning call for trans athletes to be BANNED from representing Australia at the Olympics
Senator Claire Chandler has demanded that the Australian Olympic Committee ban trans athletes from competing in the Games after America passed a similar rule on Wednesday. 'The Australian Olympic Committee should be doing what all sporting organisations around the world are doing and recognising that female athletes want to have their sporting categories protected,' Wheeler said on Thursday. 'I'm very glad to see sporting organisations finally recognising the need to protect female-only sport, but frankly speaking, it's taken far too long to get to this point. 'We know that World Athletics, World Swimming, World Rugby, all these peak international sporting organisations over the last five years have realised that women's sport needs protecting. 'It is well past time that Australian sporting organisations start doing exactly the same thing.' Chandler's stance hasn't changed since she introduced the Save Women's Sport private member's bill to parliament in 2022. She did so in the hope that it would prevent sporting clubs and organisations from having legal action taken against them for banning trans athletes from competing in single-sex sports for women and girls. Chandler's latest statement was prompted by the seismic ruling against trans athletes that was reported in America on Wednesday. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has complied with Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from women's sports, according to NBC News. The report states that the committee updated its policies to prevent trans women from competing against biological females while representing the USA at the Olympics and Paralympics. It was also reported that national governing bodies of sports federations in the US - which oversee sporting events for all ages - must now follow the Olympic and Paralympic Committee's lead, according to several chief executives of sports within the Olympic movement. 'My Save Women's Sports bill is just as relevant now as it was three or four years ago, when I first introduced it to the parliament, and it's ridiculous that women and girls in Australia don't have a legal right to their own sport,' Chandler said. Her stance has come in for criticism from Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown, who has backed the Australian Olympic Committee's decision to leave policies on trans athlete up to individual sports. 'We hope they continue to prioritise inclusion and only restrict participation where there is a clear risk to safety or fairness,' Brown told Sky News. 'Sporting organisations across Australia have worked hard to include trans women and to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and can participate safely and fairly. 'As recently as 2023, after extensive consultation and research, the Australian Institute of Sport found there was no case for a blanket ban on trans athletes in any sport, even at the elite level.' Trans athletes became a huge issue at the 2024 Paris Olympics when boxers Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif were wrongly labelled as transgender after they were accused of failing gender eligibility tests that saw them disqualified from the 2023 World Championships. New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard became the first openly trangender woman to compete at the Olympics when she was an entrant in weightlifting at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Her qualification for the Games sparked calls for the International Olympic Committee to change its rules. And last year, Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo became the first transgender Paralympian when she competed in the Paris Games after winning bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2023. Senator Chandler's 2022 private member's bill was also slammed when it was announced. Former Tasmanian anti-discrimination commissioner Robin Banks branded it 'a legislative solution to a non-existent problem' and argued that 'discrimination laws should be about preventing discrimination, not promoting it'. The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) guidelines state that it is important for all Australians to have the chance to compete in sport. 'All Australians should have the opportunity to be involved in sport and physical activity, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background or ethnicity,' the ASC writes. 'It is important that sporting bodies, from local clubs through to national sporting organisations, reflect the diversity in the communities they are a part of, and that together, we ensure every person is treated with respect and dignity and protected from discrimination.'
North Wales Chronicle
9 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
UK car vehicle production falls amid global economic and trade uncertainty
British car output fell 7.3% in the first six months of the year, while van and other commercial vehicle production plummeted by 45.4%, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). According to the organisation, production was slowed or halted by some manufacturers due to uncertainty around the global economy and earlier threats of US tariffs. However, the SMMT said a new trade deal struck between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump would become a 'basis for future growth'. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the numbers were 'very disappointing'. 'Global economic uncertainty and trade protectionism have taken their toll on automotive production across the globe, with the UK no exception,' he said. 'The figures are not, therefore, unexpected but remain very disappointing. However, there are foundations for a return to growth.' While overall car production declined, the number of electric cars made in the UK rose by 1.8%, with EVs now making up a record 41.5% of all cars produced in the UK in the first half of 2025. 'The industry is moving to the technologies that will be the future of mobility, our engineering excellence, highly-skilled workforce and global reputation are strengths, and we have an Industrial Strategy with advanced manufacturing and automotive at its core,' Mr Hawes said. 'With rapid delivery and the right conditions, UK Automotive can reverse the current decline and deliver the jobs, economic growth and decarbonisation that Britain needs.' Grants for new electric cars are being reintroduced after being scrapped in June 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced recently. Drivers will be able to reduce the purchase cost of a new electric car by up to £3,750. Officials hope the measure – restricted to vehicles priced at up to £37,000 – will encourage more drivers to switch to electric motoring. The DfT said 33 new electric car models are available for less than £30,000. The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money – it'll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century.'
