What Is The Point Of Having A GOP Congress?
What's become increasingly clear is that absent Trump and a few Republicans, the GOP lacks the willingness and ability to govern.What's become increasingly clear is that absent Trump and a few Republicans, the GOP lacks the willingness and ability to govern.The underlying wins in Trump's first GDP report
The Department of Commerce released the first GDP report of President Donald Trump's second term on Wednesday, sending critics into a frenzy.
The legacy media's coverage of the report reiterates the same claim: The economy "shrank." But between the lines, the report paints a different, more promising picture.
On its face, the report shows that the economy contracted at a 0.3% rate in the first quarter as a result of the ongoing trade war and tariff uncertainty. Despite this, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Richard Clarida argued that this figure was "distorted" and predicted it would be revised upward.
'It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering.'
"Not really much of a surprise," Clarida said. "I do think the Q1 numbers were probably distorted by that huge surge in imports to front-run the tariffs, and I think could be revised up slightly. So the final number may be closer to zero."
"I do think probably that the Fed will probably try to look through this number because of those distortions. ... Maybe the headline number is a bit misleading this time," Clarida added.
As Clarida pointed out, these distortions are overshadowing key indicators that would suggest the economy is actually building momentum.
For example, consumer spending outpaced government spending by 3.2 percentage points, which has been the strongest figure since the Q2 report back in 2022. Consumer spending is a strong indicator of economic health that can lead to several positive outcomes like GDP growth, increasing demand, and job creation.
The report found that inflation has also halted, with the PCE price index showing zero increase in costs from February to March. This is a promising figure compared to the 0.3% increase in costs in January.
"It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.
While the GDP has contracted overall, the core GDP grew a robust 3%, which the administration said "signals strong underlying economic momentum." Gross domestic investment also soared 22% in the first quarter, which was the highest in four years.
"Robust core GDP, the highest gross domestic investment in four years, job growth, and trillions of dollars in new investments secured by President Trump are fueling an economic boom and setting the stage for unprecedented growth as President Trump ushers in the new golden age," Leavitt said.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Consumer prices are down — why can’t Democrats admit it?
The latest inflation report is in — and for the first time in nearly five years, the Consumer Price Index has dropped.
According to data released April 10, gas prices led the decline, falling 6.3% from February to March and nearly 10% year over year. That’s real relief for working families.
It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness.
But don’t expect Joe Biden to credit Donald Trump. That would mean acknowledging the obvious: These results aren’t from Biden’s policies — they’re from Trump’s.
Psychologists call it the “locus of control.” People with an internal locus believe they shape their own destiny. People with an external one think they’re at the mercy of circumstance.
Most people pick one or the other. But Democrats? They flip depending on who happens to sit in the Oval Office.
When inflation stayed low under Trump, they called it luck. When inflation hit a 40-year high under Biden, they blamed Vladimir Putin. And landlords. And grocery stores. And payment processors. Anyone but Biden.
That spin didn’t pay the bills — especially in minority communities hit hardest by inflation.
Federal Reserve data shows that black and Hispanic households spend a higher share of income on gas, groceries, and rent than white households. In cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Charlotte, black renters saw double-digit rent hikes between 2021 and 2023.
What did we hear from the White House? Excuses. Deflection. “We’re building back better” — but for whom?
Trump gave us the answer. On day one, he signed executive orders to fast-track energy permits, cut red tape, reopen federal lands for drilling, and establish a new National Energy Council.
The results are clear. Energy prices are dropping. Inflation is cooling. And Americans — at long last — are catching a break.
Biden took the opposite approach. He vowed to “end fossil fuel,” killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, blocked offshore drilling, and even sold oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — to China.
When energy prices surged, he pointed fingers. Biden blamed the war in Ukraine. But by January 2022 — before the invasion — gas prices were already up 40% year over year, and inflation had hit 7.5%.
The “Putin price hike” was a convenient distraction from Biden’s failed energy agenda.
And the scapegoating didn’t stop there.
When inflation hit every corner of the economy, Attorney General Merrick Garland pointed at Visa, accusing debit card fees of fueling the crisis. The fees in question? Fourteen cents on a $60 purchase.
Never mind that businesses willingly pay those standard fees. If they had a real problem with them, they could easily switch to any number of alternative companies or payment methods.
If Garland wanted real answers, he should have looked at Biden’s regulatory agenda. One study estimates those rules will cost the average family $47,000 over a lifetime.
When rents spiked, Biden and the Justice Department pointed fingers at landlords and pricing algorithms. They ignored the real drivers: millions of illegal immigrants increasing demand and federal mandates that jacked up compliance costs for builders. And the algorithms they blame? Those same tools recommend lower prices when inflation and demand cool down.
As grocery bills climbed, Biden blamed “shrinkflation” and greedy grocers and meatpackers. He ignored the real culprits: trillions in wasteful spending from the American Rescue Plan and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
This is the pattern: Jack up costs, then blame someone else. Spin doesn’t fill a gas tank in Jackson or put groceries on the table in Memphis. A press release won’t pay the electric bill in Columbia.
It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness. No kindergarten teacher would tolerate it. Voters shouldn’t either.
And they aren’t. Democrats are polling at 29% for a reason.
While the media tracks the stock market, Main Street is what matters. When gas prices jump 60%, hedge fund managers don’t suffer. It’s the single mom in Detroit, the delivery driver in Atlanta, and the grandmother in Baltimore stretching her Social Security check.
This isn’t academic. It’s survival.
Americans are done with excuses. They want results — and President Trump is delivering.
He didn’t just talk tough. He cut gas prices, cooled inflation, and restored energy independence. For communities crushed by elite policy failures, those results aren’t just political. They’re life-changing.
Exclusive: Report Shows Network News’ Maximum Slant On Trump Tariffs
A NewsBusters review shows ABC, CBS, and NBC devoted 62 times more coverage to Trump tariffs and market declines than booming jobs numbers.What the stock market sell-off really says about the US economy
The stock market has been on a serious roller coaster ride this week after false reports that President Trump was pausing his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days began making the rounds on the news and social media.
“We were watching it bounce back, and then all of a sudden it dropped back down again,” Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program” comments. “Not sure what happened until we checked the news. It seems like all of these media organizations reported an interpretation from some social media user.”
The social media user has posted an analysis of what a Trump official, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, said in an interview, which is what the media then latched on to.
“He was asked by Brian Kilmeade, ‘Would Trump consider a 90-day pause?’ And Hassett said, ‘I think the president’s going to decide what the president is going to decide,’” Stu Burguiere explains.
“There’s no pause, and so now the market’s down again,” he adds.
“What’s going on in our economy is bogus. It’s all this bogus money that the Fed keeps printing and putting into the system with 0% interest rates. It’s all funny money. The stock market is no longer tied to anything real, and everybody just bypassed that and went, ‘Wow, things are really good, things are really good,’” Glenn explains.
“No,” he continues. “It was all bogus. All of that is bogus.”
Want more from Glenn Beck?
To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
If Only Republicans Cared As Much About Cutting Federal Spending As They Do Trump’s Tariffs
If Republicans like Tillis actually care about lowering Americans' cost of living, they should slash the federal budget they've spent years ballooning.Trump’s tough-love tariffs: Pain now, prosperity later
The latest economic numbers don’t look good. The inflation rate, which had inched down in the last two months, started to rise again. Moreover, stock prices continue their downward trend as the market faces ongoing uncertainty and volatility. And then there are tariffs.
The short-term impact of tariffs may be painful. If the 25% tariffs stick, your favorite European cars will be more expensive — as will all Canadian goods and possibly many Mexican goods. Nearly all American-made cars contain components manufactured elsewhere, meaning their prices will rise too.
Americans will see a vast increase in their standard of living.
A tariff is just like a tax: It increases the cost of producing a product and, therefore, its price. The key question is how much of that increase will be passed on to consumers through higher prices and how much the producer will need to absorb. That largely depends on how much consumers want the product and whether they can easily find alternatives.
The consumer will bear most of the tariffs' cost for essential products. For products where consumers say, “I like the product if the price is right,” they will pay a smaller portion. Either way, the price of imported products in the United States will rise.
That’s the short term. In the long term, Americans will see a vast increase in their standard of living — the most critical outcome of economic policy.
Short-term pain, long-term gain
Since January 2021, prices have increased rapidly. However, personal income has not kept pace, meaning households have been forced to buy less and opt for lower-quality goods, leading to a decline in their standard of living. Over the past 50 months, this steady decline has worn on the average American.
This needs to stop. Right away.
The United States must restore domestic manufacturing, especially for critical goods like steel, aluminum, and medical devices. These products are often made overseas simply because it costs less.
Americans have long believed they should buy goods wherever they are cheapest. But that mindset has caused serious economic harm.
Each year, about $1.2 trillion leaves the country through imports. That wouldn’t pose a problem if U.S. exports matched that amount. Instead, exports total less than $400 billion annually, creating a trade deficit of more than $800 billion.
Only two solutions exist: import less or export more.
Removing high tariffs and quotas on American-made products would give U.S. manufacturers better access to foreign markets. More exports could help close the trade gap.
That’s Trump’s preferred approach — open global markets to American producers. If U.S. companies can shrink the $800 billion deficit, free and fair trade will benefit everyone.
If that approach doesn’t work, then the U.S. must import less, leading to the second long-term gain.
For decades, U.S. manufacturers moved production overseas to meet consumer demand for lower prices. As a result, the country lost much of its industrial base.
In some cases, producing goods abroad makes economic sense. But the United States must bring back a strong commitment to "Made in America" products.
The only way to make that happen is to lower the relative cost of American-made goods. Tariffs can help by raising the price of foreign imports, making U.S. products more competitive at home.
Buckle up!
This shift will lead to a massive increase in U.S. manufacturing, creating more opportunities for American workers. In turn, this increase in U.S. manufacturing will lead to higher wages, stable prices, and a higher standard of living. Americans will be proud to say “Made in America” is best.
But in the short term, it will lead to more inflation.
Trump’s plan to combat inflation includes increasing domestic energy production, lowering energy prices and reducing overall inflation. Energy directly accounts for about 7% of the Consumer Price Index and indirectly nearly 30% of it. Though this will buffer some of the effects of inflation, it won’t absorb all of it, and we have to buckle up for some tougher times before we reap the rewards.
However, though we will have some short-term pain, the long-term gain will be well worth it.
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com
thefederalist.com