Triumph

Americans have a really bad feeling about the economy thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war against the rest of the world.

The feeling of the consumer fell almost 11% from March to April and 34% from this time last year, according to new data of the authorized survey of the University of Michigan, published on Friday.

The fall continued a three -month trend caused by Trump’s vote to impose tariffs on imported products to the United States, a promise that Trump served last week in what he called a “day of liberation” ceremony in the White House.

“This decrease was, as the last month, generalized and unanimous through age, income, education, geographical region and political affiliation,” said Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, in a press release.

It is the worst reading of consumer confidence since 2022, when inflation shot under President Joe Biden, which was the worst reading from the great recession from 2007 to 2009.

Michigan University

Trump’s announcement attacked stock markets and also bond investors, which caused prices to fall into the debt of the United States, a development that led Trump to reduce 10% tariffs in all US commercial partners, except in China.

“The bond market is very complicated, I was seeing it,” Trump said Wednesday by explaining his decision to partially undo the most pronounced rates. “The bond market is currently beautiful. But I saw last night where people became a little dizzy.”

Normally, when the shares fall, bond prices increase as investors seek the relative security of government debt. The drop in bond prices potentially pointed out a lack of confidence in the Trump government.

The surveys underlying the Michigan consumer confidence index for April, which will be updated at the end of this month, were carried out before Trump removed some of the rates this week. HSU said consumers have “growing concerns about the developments of the commercial war that have oscillated during the year.” A growing participation of respondents said they expect greater unemployment and greater inflation in the coming months.

White House Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an informative session on Friday that “there is great optimism in this economy,” or at least there should be.

“Trust President Trump. He knows what he is doing. This is a proven economic formula,” Leavitt said.

(Economists have questioned the new napkin formula that the White House used to find the “reciprocal” tariffs that Trump down this week).

Consumer concerns may be well founded. Economists of all political stripes say that rates overwhelm consumers. Tariffs are special taxes on imported goods, and companies that have to pay the tax can recover all or part of the cost by increasing prices. Yale’s budget laboratory estimated that the average home will be $ 4,700 poorer as a result of Trump’s tariff bet, which is explained in a diverse way as a way to increase income for the government, protect national manufacturing and prevent other countries from scaming Americans selling cheap products from the United States.

Democratic leaders have condemned tariffs and said Trump is making the economy a recession, a perspective that economists have said that it is a real possibility.

“The terrible consumer confidence number today is the additional evidence of Trump’s fall and anyone who believes chaos and the consequent crisis of the Trump Flip Flip are behind us, is sadly wrong,” said the leader of the Chuck Schumer Senate minority (Dn.y.) on Friday. “When Americans see chaos caused by Donald Trump’s tax reduction for Ultra Rico and at least $ 4,700 a year in higher costs for each person, it is not surprising that consumer’s confidence is in the landfills.”