E.J. Antoni

In other words, it accounted for almost all of the decrease. Well, you continue down that trend of shrinking government purchases, reducing government spending, what's going to happen to headline GDP? It's going to continue to go down. But that's not a sign of impoverishment. That's a sign of wealth.

It's exactly the opposite of what happened during the Biden administration, where we continue to get these apparently blockbuster official metrics, if you will. All the while, Americans' standard of living went down and their cost of living went up. I care much less about what these, again, quote unquote, official numbers look like.

It's exactly the opposite of what happened during the Biden administration, where we continue to get these apparently blockbuster official metrics, if you will. All the while, Americans' standard of living went down and their cost of living went up. I care much less about what these, again, quote unquote, official numbers look like.

I care much more about what the average American can actually buy with his or her weekly paycheck. And so far under the Trump administration, that figure has gone up, not down. And it's recovered about a quarter of the losses under Biden. That I expect to continue for the quarters ahead.

I care much more about what the average American can actually buy with his or her weekly paycheck. And so far under the Trump administration, that figure has gone up, not down. And it's recovered about a quarter of the losses under Biden. That I expect to continue for the quarters ahead.

Well, a couple of things. One is, I think, a resolution to a lot of that mixed messaging that you mentioned, right? I mean, it was frankly chaos to start where you had not only different members of the administration contradicting each other, but sometimes in the context of a single interview, you would have individuals contradicting themselves. A lot of that is getting resolved.

Well, a couple of things. One is, I think, a resolution to a lot of that mixed messaging that you mentioned, right? I mean, it was frankly chaos to start where you had not only different members of the administration contradicting each other, but sometimes in the context of a single interview, you would have individuals contradicting themselves. A lot of that is getting resolved.

Not all of it, but a lot of it. So that's really good. It's a very welcome development to have Trump and Besant really taking the lead in terms of negotiations. So less so Greer, Navarro, Lutnik. In terms of the de-escalation, I think what we're looking for there is essentially agreements one by one just getting hammered out and eventually signed.

Not all of it, but a lot of it. So that's really good. It's a very welcome development to have Trump and Besant really taking the lead in terms of negotiations. So less so Greer, Navarro, Lutnik. In terms of the de-escalation, I think what we're looking for there is essentially agreements one by one just getting hammered out and eventually signed.

It looks like trade deals reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, which is very, very important, that we include the non-tariff part of this as well. Oftentimes it's worse than the tariffs themselves. And so as those deals get done, as the details get ironed out, we can look for more free trade, not less. We can look for fairer trade. In other words...

It looks like trade deals reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, which is very, very important, that we include the non-tariff part of this as well. Oftentimes it's worse than the tariffs themselves. And so as those deals get done, as the details get ironed out, we can look for more free trade, not less. We can look for fairer trade. In other words...

Not only are American consumer markets still open to foreign producers, but finally, foreign consumer markets will be open to our domestic producers.

Not only are American consumer markets still open to foreign producers, but finally, foreign consumer markets will be open to our domestic producers.

Again, we're seeing this movement to where other countries are willing to start knocking down some of their tariff rates and also their non-tariff barriers. That includes things like quotas, but also includes tariffs. Some more abstract things that you might not think they would affect international trade like currency manipulation.

Again, we're seeing this movement to where other countries are willing to start knocking down some of their tariff rates and also their non-tariff barriers. That includes things like quotas, but also includes tariffs. Some more abstract things that you might not think they would affect international trade like currency manipulation.

But that's been a big way that a lot of these nations have effectively worked around American tariffs and also given their exports an artificial advantage in American markets.

But that's been a big way that a lot of these nations have effectively worked around American tariffs and also given their exports an artificial advantage in American markets.

So by cracking down on these different trade abuses, also abuses of things like country of origin laws, that's been a big one with China and Canada, where China sends stuff, they dump product in Canada, it gets repackaged, relabeled, and reshipped into the United States. Those kinds of abuses, as they get cracked down on, I think we're going to see, again, more free trade, not less.

So by cracking down on these different trade abuses, also abuses of things like country of origin laws, that's been a big one with China and Canada, where China sends stuff, they dump product in Canada, it gets repackaged, relabeled, and reshipped into the United States. Those kinds of abuses, as they get cracked down on, I think we're going to see, again, more free trade, not less.

And you're going to see a ratcheting down of not just the rhetoric, but the reality around tariffs.