President Donald Trump got a tongue-lashing from the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board over the latest dismal economic numbers.
"The U.S. economy grew a tepid 1.5% during the second quarter, driven by consumers and AI investment," wrote the board. Meanwhile, net exports "subtracted a point" from GDP, and government spending was down too — though the board was less concerned about that.
The economy is "shrugging off" the war in Iran, at least, the board noted — but that's "nothing to brag about."
The fundamental issue, the board continued, is Trump's ongoing obsession with tariffs, an issue they have slammed him for frequently as dragging his economy down.
"Mr. Trump thinks that, with the stock market hitting records and the economy avoiding recession, his tariffs are working wonders," said the board. However, the economy is "underperforming by half" if Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s 3% GDP target is the benchmark. "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."
Through all of this, the board said, inflation remains persistently high, and the tariffs are contributing to it.
"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," the board lamented. For that matter, they added, "most Americans probably do too."
