Well, well, well. Would you look at that — President Trump’s tariffs, long derided as economic suicide by the wine-and-cheese elite, have apparently done what generations of Beltway economists could only theorize about from their Georgetown think tanks: cut the U.S. trade deficit in half in a single month. From $140 billion in March to just $61.6 billion in April. That’s not just a drop — that’s an economic body slam.
And before the usual suspects on cable news start sweating into their soy lattes, let’s be clear: this isn’t some fringe stat tucked away on page twelve of a trade report. This came straight out of CNBC’s mouth — yes, the same CNBC that typically treats Trump’s economic policy with all the warmth of a cold tax audit.
Their anchors couldn’t hide the astonishment. Even Joe Kernen, who’s no stranger to financial data, asked, “How the hell did they already fix the trade deficit?” Good question, Joe. Maybe it’s time some of the so-called “experts” admit they underestimated a certain orange-tinted businessman who actually knows a thing or two about negotiating.
But wait, it gets better. This plunge in the trade deficit didn’t just look good on paper — it helped juice the GDP numbers too. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker ticked up to 4.64%. For context, that’s not just decent — that’s sizzling. Especially in an economy where we’ve been told repeatedly that 2% growth is the new ceiling and we should all just learn to live with it. Apparently, when you stop shipping billions overseas and start making things here at home again, good things happen. Who knew?
CNBC: In April, the U.S. trade deficit fell to $61.6 billion — cut by more than HALF compared to March’s $138.3 billion.
“The big news is there is how much it bolsters GDP — just look at Atlanta Fed GDP now, which is at 4.64%.” pic.twitter.com/9R8hHlC9d6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 5, 2025
Of course, The New York Times tried their best to spin it. They suggested March’s numbers might’ve been “artificially inflated” because importers were rushing to beat the tariffs. Well no kidding, Sherlock. That’s what tariffs are supposed to do — shift behavior. If companies rushed to import before the hammer came down, that just means Trump’s strategy was working before it even fully took effect. That’s what we call leverage. That’s what we call foresight. And apparently, that’s also what we call “problematic” if you’re still clinging to the free-trade gospel that gave us three decades of shuttered factories and outsourced jobs.
Even better, the NYT admitted something they probably choked on while typing: the decline in the deficit was “almost exclusively” due to a decrease in imports. Which means we’re not just buying less foreign junk — we’re starting to produce more at home. You know, jobs. Wages. Domestic growth. The kind of stuff that actually matters to middle America, not just stock tickers and Davos panel discussions.
And speaking of wages, CNBC pointed out another little gem that got lost in all the pearl-clutching: personal income is up 0.8% — nearly triple expectations. That’s not just good, that’s borderline miraculous for an economy supposedly on the verge of collapse every time Trump rolls out another trade policy.
Let’s step back for a second. What’s happening here is a direct challenge to decades of economic orthodoxy. The same folks who told us the trade deficit didn’t matter, that manufacturing was dead, and that the “service economy” would somehow keep everything afloat — they’re now watching their tidy little narratives get dismantled in real time.
🚨 LMAO! Trump plays the clip of CNBC celebrating his economic numbers, income growth, in the Oval, and how tariffs didn’t actually cause the doom experts thought.
Trump’s facial expressions through it all – “I did that. Yep. Exactly.😎”
There is nothing else like him😂😂
“Not… pic.twitter.com/aaCDFsNtZv
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 30, 2025
This is what happens when you have a president who doesn’t outsource American leverage to international committees or bow to foreign interests for the sake of cocktail party compliments. Trump used tariffs not as a blunt instrument, but as a strategic economic tool — and it’s working. The numbers are here, and they’re not playing nice with the conventional wisdom.
So to all the critics clutching their pearls and screaming about trade wars — maybe take a breath. Or better yet, take a look at the scoreboard. Because right now, it’s Trump: 1, Globalist Handwringers: 0.
