Trump Achieves the Economic Milestone Democrats Claimed Was Impossible
For years, Democrats have insisted that President Donald Trump would devastate the U.S. economy. But new federal data has delivered a blow to that narrative—showing that Trump is not only managing the economy effectively, but achieving what critics said he never could.
According to a Washington Examiner report released Friday, the Trump administration has slashed the growth of the national debt by an extraordinary 92 percent. Even more remarkably, the total public debt has decreased since President Trump took office for his second term.
Between January 22 and May 6, the debt held by the public grew by only $37 billion. By contrast, during the same timeframe in 2024 under former President Joe Biden, the national debt exploded by more than $478 billion. The numbers speak for themselves—President Trump has reversed the runaway fiscal damage inflicted by the prior administration.
Meanwhile, despite fearmongering from Democrats and their media allies over Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy, the latest developments show the approach is working—and it's reshaping global trade in America’s favor.
Critics in the press have sounded alarm bells, claiming the president’s tariffs would spark economic turmoil and alienate foreign allies. But instead of chaos, we’re witnessing China backpedaling and making serious trade concessions.
Negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials are ongoing, but China has already taken a notable step—exempting roughly a quarter of U.S. imports from the steep 125% retaliatory tariff. That’s $40 billion worth of American-made goods now entering China tariff-free.
This move follows the Trump administration’s implementation of a bold 145% tariff on Chinese goods, a measure aimed squarely at rebalancing a decades-long trade deficit. The exempted U.S. goods include essential products like pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals—items Beijing cannot afford to lose.
According to Bloomberg, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recalibration is less an act of goodwill and more a strategic necessity. Still, it reflects a recognition that President Trump’s policies are putting real pressure on Beijing’s economy.
Xi’s spokesman confirmed on Friday that Chinese officials are now “evaluating” Washington’s latest trade proposal, opening the door to meaningful negotiations. “The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” Reuters reported.
China’s Ministry of Commerce, however, issued a cautious statement, warning that “attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work.” The message suggests that while Beijing is engaging, it is also posturing for its domestic audience.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an optimistic tone in his interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Thursday, saying that recent tariffs have shaken China’s economy enough to push them toward serious negotiation.
“I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal. And as I said, this is going to be a multi-step process. First, we need to de-escalate. And then over time, we will start focusing on a larger trade deal,” Bessent told Fox News.
Both countries have agreed to carve out specific product exemptions from tariffs. One of the most notable is ethanol, a vital fuel product that China has now chosen to exclude from tariff penalties—a sign of how important American goods remain to their economy.
The current diplomatic tone from Beijing is a sharp contrast to the combative rhetoric delivered by China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong just weeks ago. At a U.N. Security Council meeting, Fu launched a scathing attack on the U.S. approach to trade:
“Under the guise of reciprocity and fairness, the U.S. is playing a zero-sum game, which is essentially about subverting the existing international economic and trade order by means of tariffs, putting U.S. interests above the common good of the international community and advancing hegemonic ambitions of the U.S. at the cost of the legitimate interest of all countries,” Fu said, according to Fox News.
But despite China’s propaganda, the facts are clear: President Trump is restoring economic sanity, protecting American workers, and achieving real wins on the global stage—while proving his critics wrong, one data point at a time.