Trump’s tariffs haven’t sparked predicted trade war



For months, Americans were warned by the media about a global economic trade war that would begin in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs — but it hasn’t happened.

“All the fearmongering was totally wrong,” the Heartland Institute’s Justin T. Haskins tells BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler on “The Liz Wheeler Show.” “It was just totally and completely wrong.”

“As of right now, the data that we have clearly shows that the tariffs that have gone into effect have not dramatically increased prices for consumers. We obviously are not in the midst of an economic catastrophe or something like that,” he continues.

Haskins also points out that “revenues are up” and “tax revenues are up.”


“That’s a good thing because we have a gigantic deficit problem in this country and a gigantic government debt problem long-term, and this could be a potential solution to that,” he explains, though he notes that the mainstream media is not reporting any of the good.

“If you just were to Google this story and look around the internet, you’ll see people say that the tariffs are causing lots of inflation. You’ll see it in headlines all over the place, and I just want to give real data from the government that proves that that’s not the case,” Haskins says.

Haskins points to the CPI inflation rate, which is the standard used for measuring inflation.

“In July, the 12-month inflation rate from July 2024-2025, 2.7%, is basically the same as in June. That’s less than what it was in December and in January before Trump was even president. So at that point it was around 3%,” Haskins explains.

“So the inflation has actually gone down over the past eight months, if you’re just comparing it in that way. If you start looking at individual numbers, parts of the economy prices, CPI prices in specific parts of the economy where you would expect to see tariffs causing inflation, if tariffs do cause inflation, you’re not seeing it,” he says.

One example Haskins uses is with clothing, of which, he explains 97% is not made in the United States.

“We are seeing prices actually go down … so if tariffs are causing inflation, then you would think that would be one area where you’d expect to see prices soaring, and we’re not seeing that.”

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Federal appeals court rules Trump's tariffs are unlawful



President Donald Trump's efforts to impose tariffs on imports from foreign governments hit a massive stumbling block in the form of a federal appeals court decision on Friday.

The 7-4 ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the president exceeded his authority when he cited a 1977 emergency powers act to implement many of his tariffs. If upheld, tens of billions of dollars in tariff revenue would have to be returned.

'None of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax.'

The ruling will not take effect until Oct. 14 to allow the administration to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The statute bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax," reads the order from the court.

The ruling applies to those tariffs made under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act but not those passed by the president through other laws.

Trump has said that the billions of dollars of revenue from the tariffs would help balance the budget and erode the massive government debt. He has also used the tariff threat to force companies to bring back manufacturing to the U.S.

RELATED: Trump says he's considering 'a little rebate' for Americans from tariff revenue

"The tariffs give us great power to negotiate," Trump said in comments from April. "Always have, I've used them very well in the first administration, as you saw, but now we're taking it to a whole new level, because it's a worldwide situation, and it's very exciting to see."

Critics say that the Constitution specifically granted the power of tariffs to Congress and that tariffs usually lead to trade wars, lost jobs, and inflation.

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The real fraud in higher ed: Universities need that Chinese money



The universities preaching that America is structurally racist now say they need international students to survive. Sad but true.

President Trump on Monday floated a proposal that has conservatives buzzing. Just before meeting with the president of South Korea, while discussing trade negotiations with China, Trump suggested that the deal might include allowing 600,000 Chinese students to attend American universities.

Instead of winning hearts and minds, universities would be exporting American self-loathing. Why should taxpayers fund that?

I’ve learned not to sprint ahead of Trump’s negotiations. He often uses public remarks as part of the bargaining table — dangling outrageous possibilities to shove the other side into error. And inconveniently for his critics, it usually works. Still, this one deserves a closer look.

Universities built on sand

As a professor at Arizona State University, the nation’s largest state school, I see firsthand how fragile higher education has become. Universities increasingly depend on international students to prop up their budgets. They reorient themselves not around local students but around foreign ones, reshaping programs and communications to make sure outsiders feel at home.

ASU boasts 195,000 students. Yet when the semester began, the university’s homepage highlighted international arrivals, not Arizona students. The welcome-back email did the same. Arizona families — the taxpayers who actually fund the place — were treated as an afterthought.

Administrators justify this by pointing to economic contributions, diversity, and talent. But native students notice the slight. Parents notice it too. The message is clear: Tuition dollars matter more than the citizens who built these schools. ASU may call itself the “New American University,” but more often it presents itself as the “No Longer American University.”

RELATED: Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme

Moor Studio via iStock/Getty Images

A house of cards

Here’s the truth: Many American universities cannot survive without international tuition checks.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted as much on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show, saying the bottom 15% of U.S. colleges would simply shut down without that revenue. Universities have operated like Ponzi schemes, built on the illusion that enrollment growth never ends. But as American students tire of being hectored with radical political agendas, growth slows and the budgets collapse.

The U.S. already hosts about 270,000 Chinese students, not counting tens of thousands more from India, South Korea, and elsewhere. ASU alone has 16,000 international students, down from 18,000 last year. Trump’s proposed deal would more than double the number of Chinese students nationwide overnight.

What are they learning?

Even if you grant the economic benefits, the bigger question — maybe the biggest — is: What sort of education would these 600,000 students receive?

We could introduce them to the greatness of the American experiment, the sweep of Western civilization, and the biblical truths that shaped both. We could even present the gospel to hundreds of thousands of students who may never have heard it before. That would be a noble exchange.

But that isn’t what happens on most campuses.

Drop them into a humanities classroom and they’ll be steeped in anti-racism, DEI dogma, LGBTQ activism, “decolonizing the curriculum,” and the thesis that America and the West are irredeemably wicked. Instead of winning hearts and minds, universities would be exporting American self-loathing — either by turning foreign students into residents who despise their host country or sending them home as ambassadors of contempt.

Why should American taxpayers fund that?

A higher-ed reckoning

Universities like ASU showcase international students while sidelining their own. They rely on foreign tuition to mask fiscal rot. And in exchange, they sell a curriculum that treats America as racist, the West as evil, and Christianity as oppressive.

No “economic benefit” offsets that catastrophic formula.

If American universities want to survive, they must first clean their own house.

  • Admit the harm caused by their reckless anti-America, anti-West, anti-Christian curriculum.
  • Abandon DEI dogma, corrosive identity politics, and “decolonized” philosophy.
  • Value American students — the citizens and taxpayers who fund these schools.
  • Reorient higher education toward the people of the states and communities that built it.
  • Teach again that we are created by God, equal in worth, and capable of knowing truth, goodness, and beauty.

Only then can we discuss whether more international students make sense. Until then, it is rich with irony: The same universities that teach contempt for America now admit they need foreign students to survive.

'Seems like a Purge': Trump warns of 'revolution' in South Korea ahead of summit meeting



Following a trade deal involving a tariff reduction from the original 25%, down to 15% last month, President Trump is meeting with the newly elected president of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung. The meeting will focus on trade and defense strategies, but Trump raised a different concern that will now likely color the conversation.

President Trump warned of apparent political instability in South Korea on Monday morning ahead of their meeting, even suggesting that it might be impossible to do business with the long-standing ally.

'I cannot contain my outrage at the Lee Jae Myung administration's ruthless political persecution and retaliation against the opposition, spearheaded by the special prosecution.'

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday morning. "I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!"

Lee, who won the presidency in June to replace the conservative party's stand-in candidate, has prioritized the economy in his short tenure. The ex-president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who fashioned himself as a Trumpian figure during his presidency to foster a connection with Trump, has been in jail since July 10.

RELATED: South Korea's January 6: Is the deep state to blame?

Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images

According to the French outlet Le Monde, Lee's party recently conducted raids on the former party's headquarters, including arresting the ex-first lady Kim Keon Hee. She was arrested on charges of corruption and stock manipulation on August 12. The raid was conducted on August 13 to collect evidence of election interference.

Opposition leader Song Eon-seog reportedly slammed the raid as "nothing short of gangster behavior." "I cannot contain my outrage at the Lee Jae Myung administration's ruthless political persecution and retaliation against the opposition, spearheaded by the special prosecution," Song said in a news briefing.

President Lee headlined a dinner with local Korean Americans in Washington on Sunday night following his arrival. He is scheduled to depart on August 26.

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'Another capitulation': Canada caves to Trump, dropping retaliatory tariffs



Months after scrapping its digital service tax in the face of threats from President Donald Trump, Canada's liberal government has caved once again.

This time, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — who put on quite the show about defying the U.S. while campaigning for office earlier this year — announced on Friday that Canada is dropping retaliatory tariffs on a number of American products in hopes of improving both relations with the White House and outcomes in future trade talks with the United States.

Canada was one of the only countries in the world that retaliated against Trump's tariffs, imposing three rounds of retaliatory measures, reported the Globe and Mail. These measures included a 25% tariff on roughly $21 billion of American goods including orange juice and motorcycles and a 25% tariff on American cars.

Citing Trump's tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, "substantial trade actions" on the Canadian lumber industry, Trump's reciprocal and sectoral tariffs, and recent deals struck between the U.S. and other countries, Carney noted that "the breadth and depth of the changes in U.S. trade policy have become more fully apparent."

"Under the new U.S. approach, countries must now 'buy access to the world’s largest economy' through tariffs, investments, unilateral trade liberalization, and policy changes in their home markets," said the prime minister.

Carney attempted to put a positive spin on the situation, stating that as a result of America's reaffirmation that Canadian exports to the U.S. that are compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement won't be subject to IEEPA tariffs, the "actual U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods is 5.6% and remains the lowest among all its trading partners, and more than 85% of Canada-U.S. trade is now tariff-free."

RELATED: Trump's policies are stifling transgender activists in Canada, and there's nothing they can do about it

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

In the interest of preserving what Carney framed as "the best trade deal with the United States," the prime minister said that effective Sept. 1, Canada will remove all of its tariffs on American good specifically covered under the CUSMA.

Canada, like the U.S., will, however, retain tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

'He is showing extraordinary weakness.'

"The United States is the world’s largest, most dynamic economy, and Canada is one of its most important commercial partners," said Carney.

"Canada is the second-largest foreign investor in the U.S., and many of our companies are essential to the complex supply chains that drive American competitiveness," continued the prime minister. "Canada is embarking on a transformation of our military and security capabilities to defend Canadians — investments that will create multiple opportunities for new defense and security partnerships."

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he had a "very good call with Prime Minister Carney of Canada yesterday morning," that "we want to be very good to Canada," and that the removal of the tariffs was "nice."

Canadian Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre mocked Carney, calling the tariff removal "another capitulation and climbdown by Mark Carney," reported Canadian state media.

"Today, he removed even almost all the tariffs on the United States and got none lifted for Canada," said Poilievre. "He is showing extraordinary weakness."

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Fed chair Powell signals potential rate cuts — but Trump says it’s ‘too late’



Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Friday that he may consider cutting interest rates in the near future.

During a speech at an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell hinted at the possibility of changes to interest rates at the next September meeting due to a "shifting balance of risks."

'I personally believe the Fed could cut a full percent and still not have policy unleash inflationary pressures, but I don't foresee a cut that substantial in September.'

He contended that the Federal Reserve's "restrictive policy stance" has been "appropriate to help bring down inflation and to foster a sustainable balance between aggregate demand and supply."

Powell blamed "higher tariffs" for introducing "new challenges" to the U.S. economy and "tighter immigration policy" for causing an "abrupt slowdown in labor force growth." He contended that both factors have impacted demand and supply.

"Over the longer run, changes in tax, spending, and regulatory policies may also have important implications for economic growth and productivity," Powell claimed. "There is significant uncertainty about where all of these policies will eventually settle and what their lasting effects on the economy will be."

RELATED: Powell’s tight money policy is strangling the US economy

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

He argued that "risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside." Powell called it a "challenging situation" given that the Fed's "framework calls for us to balance both sides of our dual mandate," referring to the labor market and price stability.

However, he indicated that with the policy rate "100 basis points closer to neutral" compared to last year and stability in labor market measures, the Federal Reserve may "proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance."

"Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance," Powell said.

RELATED: Trump orders Labor Statistics chief to be fired over revisions in weak jobs report

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to drop interest rates.

"He should have cut them a year ago. He's too late," Trump said Friday afternoon in response to Powell's speech.

Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth told Blaze News, "Reading between the lines, it certainly sounded like Powell was signaling a higher likelihood of a September rate cut, something that the market had already been expecting. In terms of the Fed's stated 'dual mandate,' the pendulum seems to be swinging to more concern over the labor market than inflation, although certainly not ignoring inflation, but rather wanting to avoid a stagflation scenario," Roth said.

"Powell is definitely late to a rate cut, both in terms of supporting the economy and giving the Fed room in terms of future ability to raise rates in the face of any potential spikes in inflation," Roth continued. "While 25 basis points (one quarter of a percent) is the likely size of a cut, it probably isn't enough to be meaningful in terms of consumer or business behavior — it seems more symbolic. I personally believe the Fed could cut a full percent and still not have policy unleash inflationary pressures, but I don't foresee a cut that substantial in September."

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America First is driving jobs and a welcome corporate return



“They’re coming home — they’re all coming home.”

That’s how President Donald Trump described Apple’s decision to invest $600 billion in the American economy, $100 billion more than initially expected.

For decades, corporate America packed up and left. Under President Trump, companies are coming back.

Standing alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook, President Trump declared: “These investments will directly create more than 20,000 brand-new American jobs and many thousands more at Apple suppliers like Corning, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, and Samsung.”

This is proof that the America First agenda is working.

Bringing industry back

America First isn’t just a campaign slogan. It’s a movement rooted in economic patriotism. For decades, global corporations were incentivized to offshore jobs and close American factories, leaving once-thriving towns in economic ruin.

President Trump is reversing that damage. His America First agenda creates the conditions for companies to thrive here at home — cutting taxes, slashing red tape, rebuilding infrastructure, and putting American workers first in trade deals and policy decisions.

Apple’s investment is just the latest example. From Silicon Valley to the Rust Belt, companies are responding favorably to the president’s policies, which are rewarding their investments on U.S. soil.

In the past six months alone, more than $17 trillion in new investment, factories, and infrastructure projects have been announced. From semiconductor plants in Arizona to advanced steel manufacturing in Pennsylvania, we are witnessing the rebirth of American manufacturing.

Challenging China

And America First doesn’t stop at building new factories. It also means building the capacity to win strategic fights — including the tech war with China.

One example is the Trump administration’s recent decision toheed U.S. intelligence experts and greenlight the merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks.

For years, national security experts have warned about Huawei, the Chinese tech giant with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Huawei’s global dominance in 5G and enterprise networking poses a serious threat to cybersecurity, national defense, and communications freedom. The problem wasn’t identifying the threat. The problem was that no U.S. company could match Huawei — that is, until now. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are helping the U.S. finally compete in this industry.

Another example is President Trump’s executive order jump-starting America’s rare-earth and critical mineral supply chains — an industry China has dominated for years. From electric vehicles to advanced weapons systems, the modern economy runs on rare-earths. Yet for too long, America depended on Chinese exports to power everything from smartphones to fighter jets.

That is changing under President Trump, who signed an executive order cutting red tape, fast-tracking permits, and directing federal agencies to prioritize American sourcing and refining of rare-earth and critical minerals. As a result, U.S. companies are now increasingly investing in domestic mining operations in America, laying the foundation for greater American economic independence.

In June, Trump even signed an agreement with China to resume exports of U.S. rare-earth minerals. The global tide on U.S. exports is now turning.

RELATED: The founder betting big on American manufacturing

Photo by BRANDONJ74 via Getty Images

America First is winning

America First means just that: America first. Whether it’s encouraging companies such as Apple to invest here at home or ensuring that U.S. tech companies can go toe to toe with China, President Trump is delivering real results.

For decades, corporate America packed up and left. Under President Trump, companies are coming back. They’re investing in our people, our cities, and our future. That’s not just good policy. That’s what winning looks like.

Trump’s tariffs won’t stop India’s tech takeover



President Donald Trump blasted India with 50% tariffs, which are set to take effect August 27. These tariffs reflect Trump’s instinct that India is becoming the next China — and he’s spot-on.

Unfortunately, the tariffs will do little to stop this. Why? Because India isn’t coming for our manufacturing. They’re coming for our technology sector — and they’ve been remarkably successful both at scooping up jobs and flying under the radar.

Bangalore is booming. Boston is becoming a bust. What’s going on?

Since 2001, America has lost roughly 5 million jobs to China. During the same period, America lost up to 4 million technology jobs to India. Moreover, India now has access to sensitive American technology and information.

This is beyond an economic issue; it’s a silent national emergency.

If we are serious about reshoring American industry, then tariffs on Indian products won’t cut it. We should also tariff Indian services.

Made in Mumbai

India’s technology industry is bustling. In 2024, technology made up approximately 7% of India’s GDP. The industry employs 5.4 million people and added 126,000 new jobs last year alone. Revenue was up 5.1% year over year.

Technology is transforming India. Cities like Bangalore boast newly minted billionaires and skyscrapers. Meanwhile, technology employment in many major American cities, like Boston, is stagnating.

Bangalore is booming. Boston is becoming a bust. What’s going on?

One word: offshoring.

Increasingly, American companies are moving their production of digital services to India. Why? Because Indian labor is cheap. Consider that the average American technology worker earns $110,000 per year. Meanwhile, their Indian counterparts earn about $32,000 — Indians work for one-third the price.

Why hire an American when you can hire an Indian to do the same job for a fraction of the price?

Offshoring explains the rapid growth of India’s technology sector, 80% of which comes from exports alone — far more than China at the same stage of its rise in 2001.

Interestingly, America’s trade deficit in services with India was just $3.2 billion — fairly small when compared with other countries. This has given the false impression that offshoring is not a problem.

The reality is much more grim. The scale of offshoring is obscured by the fact that Indian services — which are largely “branch plants” of American technology companies — also service non-American markets.

RELATED: Why tariffs beat treaties in a world that cheats

Amy Laughinghouse via iStock/Getty Images

America’s tech giants rake in large profits by offshoring production to India. In turn, India’s government collects the tax revenue, and Indian people benefit from new jobs. But as usual, the American people don’t factor into this equation — yet another example of Wall Street screwing over ordinary Americans.

The price of a rupee

In my book “Reshore: How Tariffs Will Bring Our Jobs Home and Revive the American Dream,”I explain how offshoring hurts American workers in three main ways.

First, it relocates American jobs abroad, causing unemployment. Second, it suppresses wages by flooding the labor market with laid-off workers and by putting Americans in direct wage competition with cheaper foreign workers. Third, it redirects investment — especially in education — from the United States to India.

How many technology jobs have been lost to India? Although the exact number is impossible to calculate, we can estimate. A good starting point is to look at the number of Indian jobs supported by U.S. dollars. Remember, 5.4 million Indians work in the technology sector, and 80% of the revenue comes from exports — mostly purchased by the United States.

Why hire an American when you can hire an Indian to do the same job, for a fraction of the price?

If we assume a one-to-one corollary between an Indian job and an American job, then we can guess that 4.3 million jobs have been displaced. In reality, this is probably too generous — Americans are more productive than their Indian counterparts. Either way, the number of lost jobs are in the millions.

And those job losses ripple through the labor market.

Displaced workers compete for fewer domestic jobs, driving down wages. At the same time, employers can offshore tech services to India with ease, which drags wages down further.

It’s a global race to the bottom — and American workers have the farthest to fall.

Offshoring more than jobs

But an even more nefarious cost of offshoring hits directly at our kids’ futures. Offshoring reduces the demand for skilled labor in America and increases it in India, incentivizing investment ineducation abroad while neglecting our own schools. It’s not only cheaper to hire Indians, it’s also cheaper to train them.

The proof is in the pudding. In 2004, 51,000 Americans graduated with computer science degrees and 4,000 in software engineering. By 2024, these numbers had doubled to approximately 100,000 and 8,000 respectively — not bad.

RELATED: Read it and weep: Tariffs work, and the numbers prove it

GCShutter via iStock/Getty Images

However, when compared to India, 80,000 Indian students graduated with computer science degrees in 2004 and 5,000 in software engineering. By 2024, these numbers had tripled to over 250,000 and 15,000 respectively. Despite having a much smaller technology industry that is entirely dependent on American investment, India now trains more people for the technology industry than the country that hires them — and the number of graduates is increasing faster.

American technology companies demand educated Indians rather than educated Americans. As such, major American technology companies pour money into Indian universities.

Bring services back home

The United States has been pillaged for decades. The inability to manufacture basic goods poses a stark threat to the nation. The same is increasingly true of technology services: Americans are taking the back seat in education, employment, and innovation.

President Trump’s instincts on tariffs are correct, but regarding India, the reality is that tariffs are akin to fighting last year’s war. We need to either tariff offshored services or tax the wages paid to foreigners so that there is no cost advantage to hiring Indians (or anyone else). If not, America will depend on foreigners for goods and services — and there will be nothing left at home.

Trump’s next tariff should slap the service-sector sellouts



Even skeptics now hail President Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods as a major win for the American economy. Goods and services form the backbone of economic activity and trade. As groundbreaking as Trump’s tariff policies have been, the next step to secure a new American golden age is clear: Target the theft of American service-sector jobs.

Trump’s America First doctrine reshaped the U.S. political and economic landscape. It put the forgotten worker back at the center of policy, revived domestic manufacturing, and challenged the long-entrenched dogma of globalist free trade. But one glaring weakness remains — the mass offshoring of service-sector jobs, especially in call centers and customer support, to low-wage countries.

Mr. President, make the service sector American again.

Trump can fix this. The most effective tool is a targeted tariff on companies that ship service jobs overseas.

Most Americans know about the loss of manufacturing jobs. Fewer realize the scale of the service-industry exodus.

Pick up the phone to call customer service and the odds are high you’ll hear a voice thousands of miles from U.S. soil. Companies offshore call centers, IT help desks, software engineering, and back-office support to places like India and the Philippines, where workers earn a fraction of U.S. wages.

These jobs once anchored communities across the Midwest and South, providing stable, middle-class incomes without requiring a college degree. Today, millions of American workers — especially women, rural residents, and non-college-educated individuals — have been displaced. Many now settle for lower-paying, unstable, often part-time work.

At the same time, offshoring heightens data privacy risks, and foreign call centers operate with little or no U.S. oversight.

The practice isn’t limited to a few bad actors. Many Fortune 500 companies — Amazon, AT&T, Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Wells Fargo, Target, and Verizon — all run offshore call centers in India and the Philippines. Many smaller firms do the same. For every call center in the United States, at least 10 operate overseas.

The numbers are staggering. The Philippines leads with an estimated 1.3 to 1.5 million call center workers. India follows closely with 1.1 to 1.3 million. Mexico, another popular outsourcing hub, employs more than 700,000 in the field.

RELATED: Main Street’s silent plea: Exempt us from the next tariffs

Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump has already proven tariffs can work, using them to force China to the negotiating table and to secure America First trade deals with the U.K., EU, and others. A service-import tariff would build on those wins.

Such a tariff could be assessed on every foreign-based call center employee serving U.S. customers. Companies that move jobs offshore after taking taxpayer bailouts or contracts could face additional tax penalties.

This isn’t protectionism — it’s patriotism. American tax dollars shouldn’t subsidize the destruction of American jobs.

Tariffs on offshored service-sector jobs could bring millions of positions back to U.S. soil. Trump has already targeted foreign goods. Now, it’s time for the second shoe to drop: Target foreign services.

Mr. President, make the service sector American again.

Democrats can’t handle a Trump recovery



The Department of Labor reported on August 1 that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up slightly in July to 4.2%. Employers added just 73,000 jobs — well below the 110,000 economists had projected.

Democrats pounced immediately.

This isn’t economic chaos. It’s called a comeback.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) claimed the report showed Americans are “paying the price” for “Donald Trump’s destructive trade war.” He called the data an illustration of “economic chaos.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) — already positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run — declared that Trump is “crashing our economy” and insisted, “We haven’t seen conditions like these since 2020.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D) of Connecticut said the economy was “chaotic and full of corruption.” He later wrote on X: “Companies don’t want to create jobs in Trump’s chaos economy with weakening rule of law and rampant corruption.”

But the reality is far less dramatic than the rhetoric.

Numbers in context

Yes, the July jobs report was underwhelming. But it was far from catastrophic.

The 4.2% unemployment rate in July 2025 is the same as it was in July 2024 — and in March, April, May, August, and November of last year. The rate has held steady for months. In what way is that “crashing our economy”? That’s called consistency.

By contrast, unemployment rose significantly during President Biden’s final year in office. In July 2023, the rate was 3.5%. A year later, just before Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, it had climbed to 4.2%.

The fact is, Trump didn’t inherit a strong economy. He got Biden’s inflation, stagnation, and policy uncertainty. So what we’re seeing now is more of a course correction, not a crash.

Signs of progress

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time employment has grown by 1.1 million over the past 12 months. Layoffs in July were down 15% year over year.

Gross domestic product also rebounded. The Commerce Department reports that U.S. economic output rose 3% in the second quarter of 2025, reversing a 0.5% contraction in the first.

None of this suggests economic free fall. It suggests recovery.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has brokered major trade agreements with key global players and secured historic investment deals — moves that will pay off in the years ahead.

Japan pledged to invest $550 billion in U.S. industries, and Saudi Arabia agreed to $600 billion in new investments. In May, the United Arab Emirates agreed to more than $200 billion in commercial deals, on top of a $1.4 trillion commitment earlier this year to back emerging technologies.

Domestic investment is ramping up

American companies are also stepping up in response to Trump’s pro-business regulatory agenda.

Apple this week reached an agreement with the White House to commit another $100 million to domestic manufacturing. This follows the tech giant’s announcement in February of plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over four years, focusing on operations in Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina.

IBM pledged $150 billion over five years.

RELATED: Powell’s tight money policy is strangling the US economy

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Eli Lilly in February committed $27 billion for new domestic manufacturing, including four new plants. That initiative alone will create more than 3,000 permanent jobs and 10,000 construction jobs.

These investments are not instant, but they are real — and they will reshape America’s economy.

The real panic is political

The Democrats’ sudden alarm over a flat unemployment rate reveals more about their political fears than economic facts. A strengthening Trump economy threatens their narrative — and their electoral strategy.

They’re hoping manufactured panic can drown out progress. But Americans can see what’s really happening.

The July jobs report may have missed expectations, but the broader trend is unmistakable. Trump is rebuilding what Biden’s policies eroded. Jobs are returning. Investment is growing. Stability is taking root.

This isn’t economic chaos. It’s called a comeback.