Trump promised you’d be tired of winning. One year after he declared his so-called Liberation Day, working families are exhausted. Not from winning, but from surviving an economy his own policies broke.
While Trump and his billionaire allies have used the presidency to line their pockets, the rest of America is living with the wreckage.
Since Liberation Day, Trump’s tariff agenda has driven the U.S. economy into a ditch, and working families, farm owners, and small business owners are the ones stuck in it:
- The U.S. created only 181,000 jobs in all of 2025, the weakest year since the pandemic and the weakest non-recession year since 2003.
- In February 2026 alone, the economy shed 92,000 jobs, and unemployment climbed to 4.4%, proof that the bottom is still falling out.
- Trump promised to bring manufacturing back. Instead, his tariffs wiped out more than 108,000 manufacturing jobs in 2025, with over half of those disappearing in just 5 months after Liberation Day.
- As of January 2026, there are 83,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than there were a year ago.
- Outside of the pandemic, the construction industry had its weakest year of job growth since 2011. Tariffs driving up the cost of materials are killing projects before they even start.
- Inflation remains above pre-tariff levels at 2.4%, with experts warning it is on track to surge past 4% this year as the full cost of Trump’s global chaos impacts store shelves and supply chains.
- American crop farmers lost $34.6 billion in 2025 as retaliatory tariffs eliminated key export markets, according to the American Farm Bureau.
- Net farm income is projected to fall by $4.1 billion in 2026 due to declining government payments and low crop prices.
- The U.S. agricultural trade deficit widened significantly in 2025 compared to the previous five years, even as the administration claimed the tariff strategy was working.
“Families haven’t known peace since Trump slapped massive tariffs on our trading partners. Since then, they’ve seen the market crash, employers lay off workers, and prices rise rapidly while opportunities to get ahead diminish just as quickly. Now, they’re watching Trump spend billions on a war in the Middle East while choosing between putting food on the table and filling their tanks to get to work,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “Trump’s broken promises and reckless decisions have made life more unaffordable for Americans, and Congressional Republicans have rubber-stamped all of it. One year after Liberation Day, instead of a celebration, voters deserve accountability for the chaos Republicans have caused.”
Published: Apr 2, 2026