The May jobs report released on Friday may have contributed to President Donald Trump’s decision to cave on his threatened tariffs against Mexico over immigration, but the Wall Street Journal still skewered him over the bad news anyway.
In the worst report since February when only 20,000 jobs were added due to his government shutdown and ongoing trade war with China, the May jobs report revealed that only 75,000 jobs were added last month as his trade war with China escalates and his dispute with Mexico threatened to deal a further blow to an economy heading toward a recession.
The bad news did not impress the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal as the editorial board used former President Barack Obama as an example of how job creation is done and took Trump to the woodshed over his continuing obsession with tariffs.
“President Trump understandably talks up the job creation on his watch, so he should heed Friday’s Labor report that showed a sharp pullback in hiring,” the editorial board began. “The labor-market warning reinforces other evidence that the uncertainty caused by scattershot tariffs is now hurting employment as well as investment.”
“The jobs trend this year is going in the wrong direction,” the WSJ continued. “The uncertainty from the risk of a multi-front trade war is sinking in. A month ago the Trump Administration was close to an agreement with China before talks collapsed and the President slapped 25% tariffs on $200 billion in goods. Then out of the blue last week, Mr. Trump announced escalating tariffs on Mexico as punishment for unspecified derelictions on immigration.”
The Wall Street Journal then warned Trump to end his trade wars before the harm he is doing reaches the point of no return and the economy that Obama rebuilt implodes on his watch.
“Tariffs have already slammed farm exports and income, but the effects of trade uncertainty are rippling out. Farm equipment and chemical manufacturers have reported lower orders. Businesses are delaying investment decisions. Global trade flows are slowing, and commodity prices are down,” the board concluded. “The May jobs report is a flashing yellow light that Mr. Trump needs to settle his trade wars and get back to promoting growth.”
Of course, Trump will likely ignore this warning. Sure, he pulled back on his threat against Mexico, but he will likely return to that threat in the near future, and China seems poised to wait for the next president to take office before making a deal, meaning Trump will probably increase tariffs on that front before 2020, and drag our country down with him in the process.
If the May jobs report is any indication, that’s already starting to happen.
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