The state of the union under Trump is ... definitely not strong |
Here is the problem facing President Trump Tuesday night when he speaks to Congress. These speeches usually begin with every president, Republican or Democrat, declaring that the state of the nation is strong. Presidents want to project confidence.
But the truth is the state of the country is pretty shaky and its people are anxious, particularly agitated by Trump’s economic policies.
How can he say the state of the nation is strong when the price of eggs and overall inflation is heading up? He said they would go down quickly once he won office. But egg prices are expected to rise by 41 percent this year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture projection released last week.
How can he say the state of nation is anything but anxious after he promised that tariffs on imports would lead to more jobs, higher wages and lower prices? Again, that has not happened.
A late February Reuters-Ipsos poll found that the share of Americans who believe the economy is on the wrong track jumped from 43 percent in January to 53 percent in February. Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating on handling the economy dropped to 39 percent, down from 43 percent. This is a stark contrast to the 53 percent approval he enjoyed in February 2017, the first full month of his initial........