About 16 months into President Donald Trump’s second term, a commentary in The Nation argues that several signature economic promises from his 2024 campaign have not translated into broad-based gains, while court challenges and geopolitical tensions have complicated the administration’s approach.
President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign agenda centered on lowering inflation, expanding tariffs, cutting taxes, boosting U.S. manufacturing, and reviving oil and coal production.
In a May 25, 2026 essay, The Nation said that while the administration enacted major tax cuts as part of a 2025 taxation and spending package, the policy had not produced broadly distributed economic growth, and it argued the labor market had cooled as manufacturing continued to lose ground in a service-heavy economy.
On trade, the essay said tariffs contributed to higher retail prices and later ran into legal obstacles. In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a large portion of Trump’s tariff program imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling the statute did not authorize the president to levy sweeping import duties without congressional approval. Several tariffs imposed under other authorities, including national security and trade laws, were not affected.
The Nation also linked rising costs for energy and food to the U.S.-Iran conflict. Separate reporting has tied the conflict to increased energy prices and broader inflation pressures, including a jump in wholesale prices that the Associated Press attributed largely to higher energy costs.
