What Is Trumponomics?

Already we are hearing references to “Trumponomics.” But what exactly are the priorities or objectives of a president who seems to make things up as he goes along, who says one thing one minute and contradicts himself the next, and who is neither a policy wonk nor remotely interested in policy details? That isn’t to say President Donald Trump is wishy-washy about all aspects of economic policy. He has been a strong and unrelenting critic of “free trade” as far back as the 1980s, refashioning the accepted wisdom on trade as a win-win into a win-lose. And in his book — literally and figuratively — America has been on the losing end for decades. (Trump insists he supports free trade, as long as it is fair.) Trump has long been opposed to immigration, both legal and illegal, preferring a policy of America First and Only. Such nationalism may sell well in the Rust Belt, where many blue-collar workers are no longer able to earn a middle-class wage, but it deprives the U.S. of one key input to growth: young, able-bodied workers.