On his campaign trail, Donald Trump made numerous promises to the American people. From fighting unemployment, to bringing factories back to American soil, to lowering the national debt, voters were pledged a greater national economy. More than a year after the President’s inauguration, it’s time to reflect: how has the Trump administration impacted the economy?
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Undoubtedly, the Trump administration’s usage of tariffs has remained the focal point of the media and national discussion in relation to economics.
Speaking statistically, the tariffs haven’t had a significant negative impact on the American economy. As of November 2025, the trade deficit stood at approximately $56 billion, a significant improvement from the $120 billion-plus deficit left by the Biden administration in January 2025.
Perhaps more pressingly, the matter of which nations faced Trump’s tariffs sparked further debate regarding America’s ties to international allies. To many, taking economic action against nations such as the UK and South Korea could be viewed as a degradation in trust.
While this medium is impossible to measure, what can be recorded are the substantial number of deals and negotiations held between America and foreign nations as a result of the tariffs. Whether this form of diplomacy will have any greater impact on Americans remains to be seen, however.
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Though the statistics and general information on US foreign relations play in favor of Trump’s tariffs, an analysis of the tariffs’ original goals does not.
In a statement released on April 2, 2025, by the White House, the Trump administration’s tariff strategy was proclaimed, “to strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers.”
When observing American employment numbers, however, the first year of Trump’s second term has only yielded an increase of approximately 200,000 people in the workforce, a trend also present in the preceding Biden administration.
Regardless of the economic success the tariffs have had on America, it is undeniable that they’ve thus far failed to realize the Trump administration’s greater goals.
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Aside from his tariff initiative, Trump has maintained decent stats in other areas of the American economy. Inflation rates have consistently stayed at 3% or below, and the national unemployment rate continues to fluctuate below 4.5%.
With numbers to back his administration up, why are so many Americans predisposed to assume their president is harming the economy? Why is this subject even controversial in the first place?
The Watchdog sat down with Tyler Saxon, a professor in the Economics department at Bellevue College. He explained to us that a driving factor in Trump’s economic policy doesn’t lie solely in individual policies, but rather the randomness with which he enacts them.
“People like predictability and stability . . . They got bills to pay, they got kids to feed, they want job security,” Saxon argued. Though he acknowledged the economy’s prosperity under Trump’s first term and relative ease today, Saxon suggested that Americans “ are very mad with him about the haphazard tariff imposition,” that arbitrary actions like tariffs severely degrade public trust in the presidency.
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As the President of the United States, Donald Trump faces the ultimate responsibility of guaranteeing his people’s freedoms and prosperity. Equally important is his duty to lead Americans as a nation united.
With almost three years left in his second term, Americans can be assured of witnessing more drastic measures from the White House to mend the economy. Whether Americans will come out on top, and whether they do so together, remains to be seen.
