[The Editors' Verdict] "It's the Price, Stupid"

Tariffs Drive Up Prices and Household Burden
Trump Boasts of Success, but Uncertainty Remains

Question one: If former President Bill Clinton had something to say to current President Donald Trump, what would it be? Perhaps he would quote the famous slogan from his 1992 presidential campaign: "It's the price, stupid."

Less than a year into his return to office, President Trump has found himself facing a leadership crisis. His approval rating has fallen below the psychological threshold of 40% in various polls, and if this trend continues, it is highly likely that next November's midterm elections will end in defeat for Trump. The sense of crisis is growing even within the Republican Party.

President Trump strongly pushed back on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming that "the radical left media is releasing distorted fake polls." The White House also issued a statement asserting that "the Trump administration has reversed the Biden administration's economic failures by slowing inflation, raising real wages, and increasing private sector jobs." However, public sentiment has not shifted. Despite announcements that the pace of price increases has slowed, Americans still feel that prices remain excessively high.

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) estimated that President Trump's tariff policies resulted in an additional average cost of $1,200 per household (about 1.76 million won) from February to November. In addition, housing costs (rent and mortgage payments) have increased by 3.6% compared to last year. This year, home insurance premiums in the U.S. are expected to rise by an average of 8%. Electricity bills have also increased by an average of 11% since the beginning of this year. Some claim that American households now have to spend an average of $208 more per month than a year ago to purchase the same goods and services.

The biggest issues in last year's U.S. presidential election were rising prices and the cost of living. Under the previous Joe Biden administration, the consumer price index once soared to over 9%, and this high inflation was identified as the main reason the Biden administration lost power to the current Trump administration.

In a recent national address, President Trump blamed the previous administration for the burden of living costs and boasted that he had solved the problem. In his speech, he said, "Just a year ago, our country was on the brink of collapse. But now, we have become the most vibrant nation in the world." However, the British weekly The Economist ran an article in October last year titled "The American economy has left other rich countries in the dust."

Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics and Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, criticized Trump in a Substack post titled "Lies, Damned Lies, and Trump Speeches." He wrote, "This latest ?? speech reveals that Trump has no idea how to run the government," and added, "He is only interested in deceiving the public, claiming everything is fine, and attacking his opponents."

In fact, U.S. media outlets have described the recent speech as a "nothingburger." Depending on the outcome of next year's midterm elections, a lame duck period could begin in earnest. Unfortunately, not only Americans but the entire world faces a very long three years ahead.