In his run-up to the midterm elections, the president is crisscrossing the country in an effort to energize his base. Unfortunately, he seeks to inflame his base with multiple exaggerations, obfuscations, half-truths, and downright bald-faced lies. Thus, he told Oklahoma’s News 9 on October 1, “So we have the greatest economy in the history of our country.” The data says otherwise.
Consider the September employment report, released October 2. The economy added just 29,000 jobs. Earlier estimates for July and August were revised downward by a combined 60,000. July, initially reported as a month of job growth, now shows a loss of 10,000 jobs. These numbers hardly support the president’s extravagant celebration.
The overall unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, a relatively low figure. But whose unemployment are we discussing? Black unemployment rose from 6 percent in August to 7 percent in September. White unemployment was 3.6 percent. Black workers were unemployed at nearly twice the rate of white workers.
Monthly figures fluctuate, particularly for smaller demographic groups. One month should not carry an entire argument. Yet the familiar racial disparity deserves scrutiny every month. When politicians celebrate the national unemployment rate while overlooking Black unemployment, they erase people whose economic circumstances complicate their preferred story.
A presidential declaration does not pay the grocery bill. It does not fill a gas tank, cover the rent, or produce a job for someone who has been looking for months. And a national economic average tells us precious little about the distance between those enjoying prosperity and those struggling to survive.
A presidential declaration does not pay the grocery bill. It does not fill a gas tank, cover the rent, or produce a job for someone who has been looking for months. And a national economic average tells us precious little about the distance between those enjoying prosperity and those struggling to survive.
What does a “strong economy” mean to the worker whose application goes unanswered? What does it mean to the family drawing down savings while waiting for a paycheck? Losing employment can mean losing health coverage, falling behind on housing payments, and postponing an education. For households with little accumulated wealth, unemployment can turn a manageable budget into an emergency.
On October 5, the national average price of regular gasoline was approximately $4.37 a gallon. In Washington, DC, it was about $4.45. Nationally, filling a 15-gallon tank cost roughly $65. Retail diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon, adding pressure to businesses that move food, equipment, and other necessities. Prices had eased over the preceding week, but a modest decline does not make an expensive tank affordable, nor is it acceptable when precipitously higher year-over-year from 2025.
Ask a farmer about this supposedly magnificent economy. John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, told NPR in September that filling his tractor cost roughly $1,000. He was paying about $7 a gallon for diesel, nearly twice what he paid a year earlier. “This is a national farm crisis for farmers,” he said.
USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will rise nearly 29 percent this year. For Black farmers, whose operations are generally smaller and whose access to credit is more limited, another surge in operating costs can threaten both a livelihood and the land that sustains it. You cannot harvest a crop with a presidential boast.
Trump’s October 5 diesel order offers an election-season promise of relief, with crucial details left to Treasury. It directs officials to pursue tax deferrals for highway use of off-road diesel, not guaranteed tax forgiveness. Tractor fuel already receives tax-exempt treatment. Farmers hauling crops may benefit, but postponing taxes does not solve high fuel prices.
The latest inflation report, for August, tells a story families know from their ballooning bills. Overall prices were up 3.4 percent from a year earlier, but energy prices jumped 16.3 percent. Gasoline surged 27.4 percent, and home heating oil soared 52 percent—a punishing increase as winter approaches. Groceries, electricity, and shelter also cost more. This is the president’s “greatest economy”? families paying more for the necessities they cannot do without.
These increases arrive on top of prices families already found difficult to manage. Slower inflation does not restore yesterday’s purchasing power. It means prices are rising more slowly. People waiting for their old grocery budget to buy their old grocery basket understand the distinction.
An economy can expand while leaving millions financially insecure. Investors may celebrate rising asset values while renters wonder how to renew a lease. A household with substantial savings can absorb higher fuel costs. A household counting dollars until payday has fewer choices. Economic growth matters, but so does its distribution.
The president wants credit for prosperity. Then he should answer questions about who receives it. Where are the opportunities for workers excluded from the celebration? What is being done to close the racial employment gap? How are families supposed to manage the cumulative increases in their basic expenses?
Voters should ask these questions of every candidate seeking their support. They should demand specifics about employment, wages, housing, transportation, and the ability to build savings. Campaign enthusiasm is no substitute for economic security.
Calling this the greatest economy in our history is an invitation to examine the evidence. That evidence includes weak hiring, persistent racial disparities, and household expenses that continue to climb.
The president can keep repeating his false superlatives, while families still have figure out how to pay their rising bills. The question persists: A strong economy for whom?
