Wall Street Journal Needles Trump With 1 Tough Question In Biting Editorial

The newspaper warned of signs “of a slowing economy” that should have the White House “on alert” and urged the president to nix his tariffs agenda ― which economists warn will send inflation soaring and hit Trump’s base in the wallet.

There “are flashing signs that the U.S. economy is slowing,” the Journal said, noting the newest, slowing jobs report, a decline in labor force participation and the overall feeling of uncertainty for businesses over Trump’s “willy-nilly tariffs” that is “coinciding with rising consumer anxiety.”

It all “suggests slower growth ahead, even if the economy dodges recession,” it warned.

Trump’s “deregulation and an extension of the 2017 tax reform should buoy business investment over the long term,” the board acknowledged. “But the higher costs and uncertainty caused by his tariffs are hurting the economy now. If Mr. Trump wants to quiet recession alarm, he would be wise to put his tariff plans on the shelf.”