Trump’s Dumbest Economic Message Yet

He’s tanking the economy—and blaming your kids’ toy box.

Facing sinking approval ratings and broad-based rejection of his economic stewardship, Donald Trump unveiled a new economic message last week.

Was it a return to the faux populism of his campaign? An argument for a new era of American manufacturing? Or even an explanation of his thinking on tariffs?

Nope.

Donald Trump’s new message is that kids have too many dolls.

Here’s Trump’s answer during a Cabinet meeting about the impact of his massive tariffs on China:

“Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”

In case you were wondering whether this was a verbal misfire from Trump’s rapidly melting brain, he doubled down on the message during an interview on Meet the Press. This time, Trump added that he thought children didn’t need 250 pencils either.

People online, including me, ridiculed Trump for the absurd idea that the average American child has 30 dolls or 250 pencils. This call for austerity from children was especially funny—and galling—coming from someone who recently decorated the Oval Office in 24-karat gold.

But it also might be the worst, dumbest, most politically damaging message I’ve ever heard.

Here’s why—and how Democrats can make him pay for it.

Today’s post is part of a series on how Democrats can make Trump more unpopular. This would make it harder for him to pass his agenda and increase the likelihood that Democrats will win control of Congress next year. If you want to be part of the conversation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

A Morass of Messy Messaging

As his political problems pile up, Trump is clearly road-testing a series of economic messages.

First, he’s tried to wave away the reality of a weakening economy. He claims, without evidence, that prices are going down, his tariffs are bringing in money for the Treasury, and we’re on the cusp of major new trade deals. One example: Trump has repeatedly claimed that gas is down to $1.98 a gallon. That likely shocks anyone who drives a gas-powered car, since the national average is over $3.00.

When I first heard it, I assumed Trump had found one gas station in America charging that price.

Nope. He was referring to the wholesale price of gasoline at New York Harbor—not what anyone actually pays at the pump.

Second, Trump is trying to blame Biden for the bad economy. In his Meet the Press interview, Trump said all the good parts of the economy were because of him, and all the bad parts were because of Biden. I recently wrote about why that desperate strategy is doomed to fail.

Now, Trump is floating a third message: that prices will go up—and that’s okay, because Americans are spoiled and overindulgent.

Theoretically, a message of shared sacrifice could work. During World War II, Americans rationed goods in the name of a greater national cause. Trump could be calling on Americans to endure short-term pain to bring back good manufacturing jobs.

But that’s not what he’s doing.

Because the sacrifice Trump is asking for isn’t shared—it’s selective.

Selective Sacrifice

Trump wants working- and middle-class Americans to pay more for fewer goods, while he and his rich friends get even richer.

Consider Trump’s growing entanglement in crypto.

As The New York Times recently reported:

In an astonishing escalation of the Trump family’s efforts to profit from crypto, a website promoting $TRUMP, the president’s so-called memecoin, announced that the coin’s largest buyers would be invited to meet him. The effort was, in effect, an offer of access to the White House in exchange for an investment in one of Mr. Trump’s crypto ventures.

“Have Dinner with President Trump and the $TRUMP Community!” the invitation said. “Let the President know how many $TRUMP coins YOU own!”

This blatant influence-peddling scheme inflated the value of Trump’s memecoin—and Trump personally profits from every transaction. His children also recently announced a sketchy $2 billion crypto deal backed by Abu Dhabi.

So, while you’re paying more for toys and groceries, Trump is getting richer off crypto scams.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Trump is working with Republicans in Congress to pass a massive tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the ultra-wealthy and large corporations. To partially offset that giveaway, he wants to cut Medicaid, a lifeline for millions of working-class Americans.

Let’s review:

• Higher prices for working families

• Tax breaks for billionaires and corporations

• Cuts to Medicaid

This is the Trump agenda.

A Strategic Opportunity for Democrats

Somehow, Trump has managed to bundle three of the most politically toxic ideas in modern American politics into a single message.

Democrats should seize this moment to drive home two of our best-testing attacks on Trump:

1. His tariffs are raising prices.

2. His budget helps the rich and hurts the working class.

Voters don’t want economic gaslighting. They don’t want crypto scams. And they definitely don’t want to be told their kids are spoiled while billionaires hoard the benefits of power.

This isn’t just bad policy—it’s political malpractice.

Let’s make him pay for it.