President Donald Trump is defiant as he marks more than 100 days in office amid frustrations over continued high costs and growing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.
During a recent interview with ABC News, President Trump was pressed on Americans feeling “anxiety” over higher costs due to his tariff policies. The businessman and 47th president of the United States disagreed that Americans who supported him in the 2024 election didn’t “sign up” for it.
“Well, they did sign up for it, actually. And this is what I campaigned on,” said Trump. “I said that we’ve been abused by other countries at levels that nobody’s ever seen before … I could’ve left it that way, and at some point, there would’ve been an implosion like nobody’s ever seen. But I said, ‘No, we have to fix it.’ I’ve — I’ve wanted to do this for many years.”
After Trump announced his “retaliatory” global tariffs earlier this month, global stock markets roiled, and business owners braced for the rising costs that would result. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that economic growth had declined under Trump’s presidency in the first quarter of the year.
Black Americans stand to suffer disproportionately in the event of an economic downturn, like a recession or continued higher costs of living.
“It will have a disastrous and disparate impact on African Americans,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio. The civil rights leader explained, “Tariffs imposed on Canada will cause the cost of lumber to go up. Therefore, the cost of housing goes up. Tariffs on China will cause the cost of devices to go up, therefore it will impact average everyday working Americans.” He continued, “Increased tariffs on Mexico will cause groceries and fresh vegetables and produce to go up. It would hit average everyday Americans in a very drastic way, and people should be aware.”
Trump has long claimed that the U.S. has been ripped off by China and other countries in global trade and vowed to hit them with higher tariffs and bring back development and manufacturing to the United States. He argues that any economic disruptions or higher costs as a result of his tariff policies are only temporary.
On Wednesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the stock market downturn was due to former President Joe Biden (“I didn’t take over until January 20th,” he wrote) and urged Americans to “BE PATIENT!!!”
“Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden Overhang,” said Trump. “This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other.”
Zoe Cadore, a congressional lobbyist in the energy sector and candidate for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, explained that Trump’s tariff plans are too unstable.
“How can you make plans if we are constantly being told that the tariffs are going to change from day to day? What I would like to see is an actual plan that stays in place,” Cadore told theGrio. “It’s important that we are looking at things we can carve out so that we are not stifling development in this country.”
The former congressional staffer said certain materials, particularly within the energy industries, should see carve-outs from the Trump administration.
“There are certain materials that are necessary to progress the development of energy technologies, such as nuclear, such as carbon capture, such as battery storage, that come from overseas,” Cadore explained.
Trump’s immigration policies and deportations, which could impact the labor market, and mass firings or layoffs of federal workers, further complicate Americans’ economic outlook. During a rally marking his 100th day in office in Michigan, Trump did not cower to criticisms of his administration and record-low job approval ratings.
“Nothing will stop me in the mission to keep America safe again,” he said.
