The Trump White House sparked a wave of condemnation after Labor Day Weekend with a social media post boasting it had taken in a whopping “$8 trillion in tariff revenue.”
The White House posted an image of Trump and the caption, “President Trump’s protectionist trade policies have helped drive more than $8 trillion in new U.S. investment, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.” The image also included the caption, “$8 TRILLION IN TARIFF REVENUE, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW JOBS.”
Critics were quick to point out obvious, glaring errors in the post – and others made over the weekend. The conservative Manhattan Institute’s Jessica Reidl shared the post and added:
Today alone, the White House has claimed:-$8 trillion in new tariff revenue.-$4 trillion in net deficit reduction.-$5 trillion in new business investment.-Hundreds of thousands of jobs from these investments.-Record low gas prices.Each claim is completely, 100%, made-up.
Reason’s Nick Gillespie also replied, writing, “Amazing–and insanely wrong! Trump claims ‘$8 trillion in tariff revenue.’ In all of 2024, total imports came to $3.7 trillion.”
The non-partisan Tax Foundation’s Erica York replied, “How did they already get $8 trillion in tariff revenue when goods imports are about $3 trillion a year?”
“It’s remarkable to see this. The lying that is. Because if there was “$8 trillion in tariff revenue” the US federal government would be running nearly a $2 trillion budget surplus. It’s not. This is such an insane lie. We’re a banana republic now,” added independent journalist Mike Brock.
Below are some additional reactions:
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