Well. This is awkward.
After four long years of swearing that Bidenomics was an economic miracle and the American economy was the envy of the world, the media has suddenly discovered a major problem: Guys, inflation is way too high!
All it took for them to notice was a change in the president.
Donald Trump hasn’t even been in office for 30 days yet, but alas, I have terrible, awful news to share. It turns out that our entire economy is an absolute mess. Inflation’s out of control; prices are exploding. It’s a really big deal.
Rush Limbaugh used to lampoon the media’s “selective” obsession with homelessness. Whenever a Republican was president, homelessness was a huge problem and a national disgrace: Imagine that, in the Land of Plenty, we still have families going to bed hungry! For shame! Tsk, tsk!
And then, when the Democrats took over, the homeless problem vanished overnight. All the news stories ceased. You didn’t hear about ‘em again until the Republicans returned.
Seems that inflation is the new homelessness. Check out the rapid inflation of inflation stories over just the last 72 hours:
CNN: Trump orders up a plan for more tariffs, even as inflation heats up
USA Today: Inflation, prices jump as Trump ignores ‘real Americans.’
MSNBC: Trump Under Pressure: Inflation hits 3%, egg prices jump 15.2% in January
AP: The latest inflation report shows that high prices are Trump’s major economic challenge
The New York Times: Donald Trump’s Chicken-and-Egg Inflation Problem
CNN: Inflation is Trump’s problem now
Wall Street Journal: Trumponomics and Rising Inflation
The Washington Post: Trump’s inflation challenge in 7 charts
The New York Times: Hot Inflation Raises Stakes of Trump’s Tariffs
Bloomberg: US Inflation Picks Up Ahead of Tariffs
ABC News: Inflation increased in January, posing obstacle for Trump tariff plans
The Washington Post: Trump is badly misreading today’s economy
PBS: Trump’s tariff plan would raise inflation and cost U.S. jobs
Yikes!
Prior to Election Day, the strength and resilience of the American economy was (allegedly) Joe Biden’s greatest accomplishment — and the reason why Kamala Harris deserved to be our next president. And now, just 25 days after Trump’s inauguration, the American economy is such a mess that it can’t even withstand Canadian lumber tariffs?
Because those are the dots the media wants you to connect: Inflation and tariffs.
It’s already begun, but get ready for it to roar into overdrive: We’re going to see a rapid inflation of inflation stories. After steadfastly ignoring inflation for four years, it’ll suddenly be the culprit of all our social evils. Housing, jobs, education, crime, international conflict — yup, the root cause will be inflation.
Trump’s inflation.
Very clearly, Trump hopes to use the threat of tariffs to extract bargaining concessions from other countries. That’s his game plan: It’s a negotiating tactic.
And just as clearly, the media is trying to sabotage his game plan by diminishing his negotiating leverage. They’re lobbing monkey wrenches at the MAGA machinery. It’s an all-out PR campaign to stigmatize tariffs, rebranding them as ruinous gateways to higher inflation.
The Democrats’ single biggest fear is that Trump might actually succeed. Our country is still settling into a new political alignment; should MAGA prevail, it could keep the Democrats out of power for a generation. They can’t win unless Trump — and our country — loses.
The stakes are sky-high. (Just like inflation.)
And just like inflation, the media’s hypocrisy keeps growing.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member