BUBBLE BURST

Murdoch Paper Hits Trump With a Scathing Reality Check

The U.S. economy’s growth has fallen short of experts’ expectations.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal has warned Donald Trump that his disastrous policies are hindering the country’s economic growth.

The newspaper’s editorial board said that, despite the 80-year-old president’s insistence, the U.S. economy is merely “tepid” rather than booming.

The sluggish pace was evident on Thursday, when figures from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew by 1.5 percent from April to June, below forecasts of around 2 percent.

The Journal’s board noted that what little growth there was came from an increase in consumer and business spending, as well as the domestic AI boom.

However, it added that the numbers show that while the economy “continues to plod along and is shrugging off the war in Iran,” the overall figures are nothing to brag about.

“Mr. Trump thinks that, with the stock market hitting records and the economy avoiding recession, his tariffs are working wonders. But based on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s 3 percent GDP growth target, the economy is underperforming by half,” the board wrote.

“Last year’s tax bill and deregulation would be driving faster growth if not for Mr. Trump’s border taxes that raise costs and uncertainty for business.”

Trump’s original sweeping tariff plans were struck down after the Supreme Court ruled in February they had been implemented illegally.

However, the president announced a fresh wave of levies on imports from more than 80 countries last week, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent.

Trump’s deeply unpopular war in Iran has also helped stunt economic growth, with the conflict affecting areas such as gas prices and inflation.

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While the latest figures suggest the economy has been somewhat resilient during the war, economists note that conditions could—and should—be much stronger.

“It’s an economy that’s doing OK. It’s not overheating. It’s not underheating,” Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College, told The Washington Post.

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The Journal’s board also offered some advice on how to give the economy a bigger boost going forward.

“Some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent fans tell us they wish he’d drop his tariff fixation and return to the supply-side policies that produced broad-based prosperity during his first term. Most Americans probably do too,” the board wrote.

In response, White House spokesman Kush Dasai told the Daily Beast: “Robust investment spending–from trillions in investment commitments to the Q2 GDP report showing that capital goods imports are at a record high–reinforce how the administration’s pro-growth is laying the groundwork for a long-term restoration of American Greatness.

“Meanwhile, prices of prescription drugs, eggs, insurance, dairy, and other essentials have come down thanks to the Trump administration’s policies. Once President Trump forces the Iran situation to a successful conclusion, Americans can count on the real wage and economic growth to continue accelerating.”

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