Once again, Donald Trump is promising economic salvation. And once again, he is peddling the same old snake oil that led to disaster the first time around. Only this time, the illusion isn’t about Europe or Asia in crisis, it’s about America itself, spiralling into an economic abyss of his own making.
Trump, the self-proclaimed master of deals, spent his first term waging a trade war that he neither won nor understood. Tariffs, his favourite economic weapon, were supposed to punish China, Europe, and anyone else who dared to compete with America. Instead, they punished American consumers, farmers, and manufacturers. The great irony? While Trump ranted about foreign economies collapsing under his pressure, it was American businesses that suffered under rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and retaliatory tariffs from abroad.
And now, with his second coming on the horizon, he is doubling down on the same economic myths. This time, he won’t just blame foreign economies for failing, he will blame his domestic enemies, immigrants, and the ‘deep state’ for the economic disaster that, conveniently, he will claim only he can fix. It’s the same old script: break the system, blame someone else, and present himself as the savior.
Trump’s ‘America First’ economic policies never put America first. They put cronyism first. They put tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy first. They put a billionaire’s fantasy of trickle-down economics first. And in the end, they put American workers dead last.
The reality is painfully simple: tariffs are taxes, and the people paying them aren’t foreign governments, they’re American consumers. The tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese goods weren’t a cost borne by Beijing; they were costs passed down to American businesses, which in turn passed them down to American shoppers. The result? A hidden tax on ordinary Americans, making everything from cars to groceries more expensive.
And yet, here he is again, promising to slap even more tariffs on foreign goods. He wants a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports, something that would send inflation soaring and devastate any chance of economic recovery. He’s even proposed a 60% tariff on Chinese imports, which would all but guarantee a full-scale trade war. And who wins in a trade war? No one. But Trump, true to form, will tell his followers that the pain they are feeling is the necessary cost of ‘winning.’
One of the greatest economic deceptions of Trump’s presidency was convincing working-class Americans that he was their champion. The truth? His policies devastated them. Farmers saw their export markets vanish due to his trade war with China. Manufacturing jobs, which he vowed to bring back, continued to disappear as automation and global competition marched on. His tax cuts overwhelmingly benefited the rich, leaving the average worker with scraps.
And then came COVID-19 a crisis he mishandled so spectacularly that it left the economy reeling. But instead of owning his failure, he resorted to his favourite tactic: scapegoating. First, it was China’s fault. Then it was the ‘deep state.’ Then it was Dr. Fauci. Then it was the media. The list of villains changed daily, but the reality remained the same: America’s economic collapse happened on his watch, and he had no plan to fix it.
If Trump returns to power, expect more of the same economic theater. More tariffs, more isolationism, more corporate handouts disguised as ‘populist’ policies. He will promise to bring back jobs that no longer exist. He will declare economic victory while average Americans struggle to pay rent. And when the economy inevitably stumbles under his reckless policies, he will point his stubby fingers at anyone but himself.
The tragedy is that many will believe him. They will buy into the illusion, just as they did before. Because Trump doesn’t sell policy, he sells resentment. He doesn’t offer solutions, he offers scapegoats. And as America braces for another potential round of his economic chaos, one thing is certain: the people who will suffer the most are the very ones he claims to protect.
Trump’s economic illusions may be great for rallies and soundbites, but they are a disaster for the real economy. And this time, it won’t be Europe or China paying the price, it will be America itself.
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