April 1, 2026Updated April 2, 2026, 10:51 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump has talked endlessly and inaccurately about how his predecessor’s economy was a “disaster” and a “catastrophe.” He even once said, “You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our nation in just a few short years. Not even close.”
Well, Mr. President, I’ve some unhealthy information. You’ve bungled your second time period so totally that voters are wishing they may return to the halcyon days of “Sleepy Joe” Biden.
A brand new Harvard CAPS/Harris survey found that extra than half of U.S. voters assume the economy is worse beneath Trump than it was beneath Biden. And 62% blame the present state of the economy on Trump relatively than Biden.
To undertake a little bit of Trump’s typical patter: “They’re begging like dogs to go back. They’re saying, ‘Can we please have some more of President Biden’s catastrophe? Pretty please?’”
Trump stinks so unhealthy he has Americans lacking the Joe Biden economy
A CNN report on a poll the network released April 1 famous: “The 65% who say Trump’s policies have made the economy worse is the highest of his presidency, higher than the share who said the same about Democrat Joe Biden’s policies at any point during his time in office.”
Oh, Joe. Come again!
Trump can shout that the economy is roaring and America is the hottest country in the world till he is extra orange than typical within the face, nevertheless it’s clear that, like low cost MAGA merchandise, no one’s shopping for it.
Americans disapprove of Trump’s dealing with of the economy, as they need to
CNN’s poll found that 72% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is dealing with inflation, the next disapproval price than Biden (68%) and former President Jimmy Carter (66%) at this level of their presidencies.
Biden’s lowest disapproval score on gasoline costs was 72%, however the CNN poll has Trump at 76% disapproval on that topic. And solely 31% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.
It’s attainable Americans are feeling flimflammed as a result of flimflam artist Trump managed to take excessive post-COVID inflation charges and use them to slam what was in any other case a powerful Biden economy, using individuals’s financial fears again to the White House.
He then proceeded to unleash ludicrous tariffs and, amongst different issues, begin a struggle with Iran, spiking oil costs, whereas additionally getting rid of Affordable Care Act subsidies and failing to decrease meals prices.
‘Job creation has slowed and the unemployment price has risen’
Dean Baker, a senior fellow on the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote a comparison of the Biden/Trump economies in March and concluded this:
“By pretty much every standard measure, the economy was quite strong at the end of 2024. Inflation was somewhat above the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, but it had been headed downward for the prior two years and nearly all projections showed inflation continuing to decline. The Fed was lowering interest rates, and these rate cuts would almost certainly have continued into the winter, if the election of Donald Trump had not raised the prospect of sharply higher tariffs and inflation. Lower rates would have helped to lower mortgage rates and boost construction, which would hasten the decline in house prices.
“It is far too soon to pronounce a verdict on the Trump administration’s policies, but the impact to date has been the opposite of what has been claimed. Higher tariffs have boosted inflation, even if by somewhat less than many had predicted. Job creation has slowed and the unemployment rate has risen. And there is no evidence of a manufacturing boom, as both manufacturing employment and factory construction have fallen.”
Summarizing that, and considering all current polling showing staggering dissatisfaction with the present president, what I surmise many U.S. voters try to say proper now’s: Oops.
Trump cannot move off his personal economy as Biden’s fault
A White House spokesperson lately stated in a statement to MS NOW: “President Trump was resoundingly re-elected to the White House precisely because he understood how Americans were left behind by Joe Biden’s economic disaster.”
That line of hooey ain’t workin’ anymore, kiddo. Not when most Americans would take “Joe Biden’s economic disaster” over regardless of the heck it’s Trump is doing to the nation.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
