On Dec. 6, 2019, a newly released jobs report showed a thriving U.S. economy. The unemployment rate was at 3.5%, and a reported 266,000 jobs had been added to the workforce. The rate, a 50-year low, was good news for everyone. Only six months later, the unemployment rate stands at 14.7%. The surge in joblessness can be directly attributed to the invisible foe known as COVID-19.
But despite the fact that a virus is to blame for the economic downturn, many on the Left blame President Trump for it all.
A social media search for #TrumpDepression results in a parade of tweets pinning full responsibility on the president for the country’s economic despair. But for that to be true, one would also have to attribute every single economic success that occurred before the pandemic to President Trump as well. Clearly, the media and their supporters did not do that.
There is an obvious tendency for individuals on both sides of the aisle to say a president single-handedly improved or tanked the economy based solely on personal political affiliation. To be sure, the commander in chief does have an effect on the economic health of the nation, but other factors are present too. Especially in a president’s first term, the work of his predecessor still lingers. That plays a part, for good or bad. In addition, external influences, terrorism, or even a global health crisis are possible and unexpected factors that play a part.
It is one thing to criticize the Trump administration for its attitude while handling the pandemic. It’s another thing entirely to label the president completely at fault for the economic catastrophe.
As the Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein noted in mid-March, the president was finally treating the crisis with the seriousness it deserved. It was then that the president’s tone began to change. Around that time, Trump and his advisers made suggestions and issued guidelines for dealing with the spread. But it was, and has been, up to individual states to address the crisis as they see fit.
What followed was the closure of schools, churches, retail, restaurants, and manufacturing all across the nation. At the time, the feeling was that public health was the most important thing to protect. This was echoed by the majority of elected officials, both Republicans and Democrats, across the nation. Though Trump did incorrectly state in mid-April that he had “total authority” on when to direct a reopen, he quickly recanted and placed the decision in the hands of governors, where it always belonged.
There is simply no way an economy can thrive in the unprecedented situation the world is in. If the economy is shut down because of factors out of anyone’s control, it is quite clearly not a matter of fiscal policy that led to the decline. A full stop would hurt the economy under any president. Whether the person is a Republican or a Democrat, a president faced with such a challenge should not be saddled with Depression-era blame.
During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged the bleak economic reality and placed all blame in one corner: “This is no fault of American business. This is no fault of American workers. This is a result of a virus. The reported numbers are probably going to get worse before they get better.”
On more than one occasion during this pandemic, Trump has carried the wrong tone or treated the problem with a casual nature. Despite these frustrations, his administration is not responsible for the economic nosedive. The Left wants to connect his name to the economic woes, but that is more of an election-year tactic than actual truth. Whether it’s an attempt to credit a president with all the economic good or blame a president for all the bad, assigning either to a temporary leader is often a product of bias rather than fact.
Eventually, the economy will recover, and life will begin to look a bit more normal. There can and will be discussions on how to move forward from there. But for now, COVID-19 is entirely to blame for our economic health.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
