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MaddowBlog-Improved job numbers make Trump's trade tariffs look even worse
Immediately after the Supreme Court struck down the White House’s tariffs, the job market bounced back. That’s probably not a coincidence.
Here’s a trend I’d love to hear the White House explain:
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-08T18:38:03.653Z
Average monthly job growth in the runup to Trump’s tariffs: 72,000
Average monthly job growth during Trump’s tariffs: -4,900
Average monthly job growth in the aftermath of Trump’s tariffs: 188,000
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/improved-job-numbers-make-trumps-trade-tariffs-look-even-worse
But as the political and financial sectors digest the latest data, there’s a trend that’s worth dwelling on.
In the first four months of Trump’s second term, as 2025 was just getting underway, job growth slowly improved, and over the three months leading up to the unveiling of the White House’s trade tariffs agenda, the economy averaged monthly job growth of roughly 72,000.
Then the White House-imposed “Liberation Day” arrived, launching an avoidable and unnecessary trade war. In the 10 months that followed, the U.S. job market, on average, lost 4,900 jobs per month. That’s not a typo: For the first time in several years, the economy actually started losing jobs in a sustained way.
In February, to the hysterical outrage of the president, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his tariffs agenda. In the three months that followed, the economy added a combined 565,000 jobs — more than quadruple the total for the entirety of 2025 — for an average of more than 188,000 jobs per month.
Maybe that’s a coincidence, but I rather doubt it. To recap:
What this suggests is that if Trump wanted an economic success story, all he had to do was nothing. He inherited an economy firing on all cylinders, which was the envy of the world. If he had spent every day golfing, the job market almost certainly would have continued to hum along quite nicely....
Trump has repeatedly railed against the justices who ruled against him in the tariffs case, including two he appointed to the high court. The latest job numbers, however, suggest he owes them a fruit basket, not condemnation.
It’s something to keep in mind as the White House eyes new efforts to impose a fresh round of trade tariffs.
In the first four months of Trump’s second term, as 2025 was just getting underway, job growth slowly improved, and over the three months leading up to the unveiling of the White House’s trade tariffs agenda, the economy averaged monthly job growth of roughly 72,000.
Then the White House-imposed “Liberation Day” arrived, launching an avoidable and unnecessary trade war. In the 10 months that followed, the U.S. job market, on average, lost 4,900 jobs per month. That’s not a typo: For the first time in several years, the economy actually started losing jobs in a sustained way.
In February, to the hysterical outrage of the president, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his tariffs agenda. In the three months that followed, the economy added a combined 565,000 jobs — more than quadruple the total for the entirety of 2025 — for an average of more than 188,000 jobs per month.
Maybe that’s a coincidence, but I rather doubt it. To recap:
Average monthly job growth in the immediate run-up to Trump’s tariffs: 72,000
Average monthly job growth during Trump’s tariffs: -4,900
Average monthly job growth in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s tariffs: 188,000
What this suggests is that if Trump wanted an economic success story, all he had to do was nothing. He inherited an economy firing on all cylinders, which was the envy of the world. If he had spent every day golfing, the job market almost certainly would have continued to hum along quite nicely....
Trump has repeatedly railed against the justices who ruled against him in the tariffs case, including two he appointed to the high court. The latest job numbers, however, suggest he owes them a fruit basket, not condemnation.
It’s something to keep in mind as the White House eyes new efforts to impose a fresh round of trade tariffs.
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