President Donald Trump posted a humiliating economic statistic Tuesday that revealed his kindergarten-level understanding of economics.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. trade deficit had “widened by the most in nearly 34 years,” linking an article from six months ago that said that the trade gap had increased 94.6 percent to $56.8 billion after exports tumbled in November. As of April, the trade deficit is even wider at $55.9 billion.
A widening trade deficit is not a good sign for Trump’s economy, especially considering the president’s vow to erase it altogether. So how did the post end up on Trump’s timeline?
It’s not clear where the mistake was made, but Trump’s previous statements suggest that he doesn’t understand what a trade deficit is.
The president has described the trade deficit as a “loss,” even though it simply indicates that one country spends more on goods from another country than that second country spends on goods from the first. Economists say that having a trade deficit is not an inherently bad thing, because the U.S. simply can’t and shouldn’t make everything. But Trump has insisted that a wide trade deficit means the U.S. is being taken for a ride.
It appears this misunderstanding may be more widespread throughout the administration. Last month, the DOJ suffered a resounding legal loss because it misrepresented Section 122 of the Trade Act: It claimed that the phrase “balance-of-payments deficits” in the law is the same as a “trade deficit.” It is not, a court ruled.
There’s also a simple explanation for Trump’s post: The president is days away from turning 80 years old, prone to having senior moments, and may have gotten confused.
If that’s the case, then the post is still concerning. Trump uses his social media to speak to Americans on a global stage, make wild threats against foreign countries, manipulate the stock market—and apparently also post outdated information about the U.S economy.
In either case, someone take this old man’s phone away, please.