On Saturday, President Donald Trump penned an op-ed claiming his tough tariff policies have sparked an economic miracle in the United States.
He highlighted South Korean firms’ $150 billion investment to revive American shipbuilding as a prime example of the success of his tariff strategy.
In his Wall Street Journal piece, Trump boasted, “Since my 2024 election, the stock market has hit 52 record highs, and inflation has been virtually non-existent.”
He cited the U.S. GDP growth of 4.4% in last year’s third quarter and a mere 1.4% core inflation rate over the past three months as evidence.
Trump declared that experts who criticized his tariff policies had been proven completely wrong, asserting that America had transformed from a dead country a year ago into the world’s hottest economy.
The President highlighted how tariffs have leveraged massive foreign investment, noting South Korean companies’ $150 billion commitment to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding.
He also claimed that Japan’s involvement in the Alaska gas pipeline project and the EU’s $750 billion pledge to buy American energy were achievements that would have been impossible without his tariff strategy.
Trump concluded his op-ed with a jab at WSJ’s tariff skeptics, suggesting they try on red hats emblazoned with the phrase, “Trump Was Right All Along.”
However, economic indicators seem to contradict Trump’s rosy picture. Last December’s annual U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.7%, still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Moody’s chief economist, Mark Zandi, described U.S. inflation as uncomfortably high, noting its significant burden on low- and middle-income families.
Job market optimism also appears misplaced. Since Trump’s tariff policies took effect, average monthly job growth has plummeted, with manufacturing alone shedding 78,000 jobs in 2025. The U.S. unemployment rate hit 4.5% last November, the highest since October 2021, and only marginally improved to 4.4% in December.