On the heels of America’s military defeat in Iran, President Donald Trump wants you to believe America is “winning like never before.”
On Father’s Day, the president took to Truth Social to paint a picture of unprecedented prosperity—record jobs, a soaring stock market, and the “best economy ever.”
It’s a convenient narrative, especially when you’re the one holding the pen. But the reality for most Americans? It’s a Father’s Day card written in disappearing ink.
Let’s start with the obvious: Trump left office in 2021 with 3 million fewer jobs than when he started. He’s the only modern president to preside over a net loss of jobs.
Yes, COVID-19 played a role, but let’s not pretend his administration’s chaotic pandemic response didn’t exacerbate the damage. Now he’s back, touting job numbers that would have been considered mediocre under his predecessor.
The economy added 172,000 jobs in May—respectable, sure, but hardly “record” territory. Under Joe Biden, monthly job gains routinely exceeded 300,000. By comparison, Trump’s best month this term was 214,000 in March, which was followed by a loss of 92,000 jobs in February.
Layoffs are up 16% month-over-month, with AI-driven cuts reaching levels not seen since the height of the pandemic. This is not a labor market firing on all cylinders; it’s one held together with duct tape and wishful thinking.
Then there’s the stock market.
Yes, the Dow hit a record high, crossing 51,500, and the S&P 500 is hovering near historic levels. But here’s the inconvenient truth: 38% of Americans don’t own stocks.
For them, Wall Street’s party is a distant spectacle, like watching fireworks from a window while your house burns down. As Tufts professor Michael Klein put it, “The stock market is not the economy.” It’s a lesson Trump seems determined to ignore.
The real economy—the one where people buy groceries, fill up their tanks, and pay rent—is a different story.
Inflation is at 4.2%, its highest level since April 2023, driven largely by a 40% spike in gas prices since the Iran war began in February.
Gas is still hovering around $4 a gallon, well above pre-war levels. Food prices have risen consistently, with categories like bakery products, cereals, and vegetables leading the charge. Even Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, is cutting prices to lure back customers who are “being more deliberate with their spending.”
CEO Greg Foran admitted they’re getting “too many promotional trips and not enough of the full basket.” That’s not a booming economy; that’s a population penny-pinching to survive.
Affordability remains a big worry, as 45.5% of U.S. households don’t earn enough to cover necessities like housing, food, child care, and transportation.
Nearly two-thirds of workers report feeling financially unstable, with many draining their emergency savings just to stay afloat. Meanwhile, Trump is celebrating a stock market fueled by tech rallies and a failing ceasefire deal with Iran.
For the millions of Americans working multiple jobs to make ends meet, the “best economy ever” is a bitter joke.
The polling data confirms the disconnect. A PBS News/NPR/Marist poll found that just 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy—his lowest rating ever on the issue. Sixty-six percent disapprove. Among independent voters, 64% say they either disapprove or strongly disapprove. Even 18% of Republicans are unhappy. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was even more damning: only 22% approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 70% disapprove. These aren’t cherry-picked numbers; they’re a referendum on a presidency that promised relief but delivered rhetoric.
Trump’s defenders will point to falling gas prices in recent days and the stock market’s resilience. But as experts note, the supply chain damage from the war won’t normalize overnight. Refilling the strategic petroleum reserve and rerouting tankers will take months, and consumer prices are unlikely to return to pre-war levels anytime soon. Rice University’s Mark Jones predicts gas prices won’t fully stabilize until the last quarter of 2027. By then, Trump will be long gone or begging for another term.
What about the “greatest military in the world”? Trump loves to claim victory on that front, but the record is mixed at best. The U.S. was defeated in Afghanistan, couldn’t defeat Iran, and has seen its alliances fray under Trump’s abrasive leadership. He’s alienated NATO allies, personally insulted European leaders, and threatened to attack other NATO members. Meanwhile, the U.S. military budget is the largest in the world, but brute force doesn’t equal strategic success. China is expanding its blue-water navy, Russia maintains the largest nuclear arsenal, and both are challenging American dominance in ways that Trump’s boasting can’t paper over.
Perhaps the most galling part of Trump’s Father’s Day fantasy is its timing. He framed his message as a celebration of national strength, but for millions of Americans, it’s a reminder of how out of touch he is. Nearly half of U.S. households are struggling to afford basic necessities, yet Trump is celebrating record-high stock valuations that are dangerously overpriced. The Shiller P/E ratio, a time-tested valuation metric, is hovering near 42.84—just 3.5% below the dot-com bubble peak of 44.19. History shows that such valuations are invariably followed by painful corrections or bear markets. The clock is ticking on this rally, and when it stops, it won’t be the wealthy who suffer most.
If Trump truly wanted to honor American fathers, he’d acknowledge the real struggles they face: the fathers working two jobs to put food on the table, the fathers delaying retirement because their savings aren’t enough, the fathers who can’t afford summer vacations for their kids. Instead, he’s peddling a narrative that serves only himself and his wealthy donors.
The “best economy ever” is a myth for the majority of Americans. It’s a story for the top 10%, for the stock market speculators, for the tech billionaires who are riding the AI wave.
For everyone else, it’s a time of anxiety, struggle, and diminishing hope.
Donald Trump may think America is winning, but ask the 45.5% of households that can’t afford necessities if they feel like winners. They’ll tell you the truth: this economy is a winner’s game, and the rest of us are just playing to survive.
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