August 3, 2018

Trump Trade Deficit Keeps Soaring

Ha ha ha. The latest trade deficit numbers are out for the second quarter, and Donald Trump still can’t get it right:

It keeps going up and up! Other countries are laughing at us! Even that weakling Obama had a better trade deficit! What a pathetic performance from Donald Trump. He’s just making America weaker and weaker.

POSTSCRIPT: This is a joke. Nobody should really care if the trade deficit is going up a bit. What’s more, if Trump were ever smart enough to look at the complete figures for goods and services, it turns out that the trade deficit went down slightly this quarter. Of course, that would force Trump to admit that (a) services are actual things (b) our annual trade deficit is about $500 billion, not $800 billion, (c) our trade deficit with China is closer to $300 billion than $400 billion, and (d) we have a trade surplus with Canada

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4 DAYS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just 4 days left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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