Trump has time to bounce backpublished at 19:13 Greenwich Mean Time
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
As President Trump escalated his trade war with
Canada and US stocks rode a rollercoaster, White House press
secretary Karoline Leavitt painted an upbeat picture earlier today.
Setbacks are only “temporary”.
Economic warning
signs are just a “snapshot in time”.
Manufacturing job numbers are strong, and
foreign investments are up.
And to whatever extent there are problems with the
US economy, it is because of Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
American voters tend to have short memories,
however, and blaming current conditions on a president who left office in
January is unlikely to fly for long – particularly when economic uncertainty
has been exacerbated by Trump’s own actions.
That short memory ultimately may end up helping
Trump and his team, however, if their trade and government-slashing plans do
eventually lead to the kind of growth they have promised.
Congressional
elections aren’t until November 2026, and this is still early in Trump’s second
term.
There is plenty of time to bounce back. But
every day on this current trajectory means the political hole the president is
digging gets deeper, whether Leavitt acknowledges that from the White House
podium or not.
