For years candidate and then President Donald Trump boasted and bragged about what a great deal maker he is, while denigrating, destroying, and tearing up trade deals made by his Republican and Democratic predecessors.
The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post Wednesday morning report that under President Trump, the U.S. trade deficit on goods has skyrocketed to the largest in history.
That means the U.S. in 2018 imported $891.2 billion more goods than it exported – a massive deficit, and a massive 10% increase.
If you add in the services sector, the U.S. trade deficit is still $621 billion, $100 billion more than under President Barack Obama.
“The president thus begins his reelection drive with a core campaign promise unfulfilled — and with a recent flurry of economic research showing that his embrace of tariffs is damaging the U.S. economy,” The Washington Post notes.
Remember this tweet from December?
Bloomberg News does: “Tariff-Man Trump to Preside Over $100 Billion Jump in Trade Gap.”