Good morning. It is Saturday, May the second. I'm Ali Valshi, 55%. 55%. The share of Americans who say

their financial situation is getting worse. That's according to Gallup. That is higher than at any point

in the last 25 years, higher than the

2008 financial crisis, higher than during the pandemic when COVID literally shut down

major parts of the global and American economy. In a poll released last week, 70% of people told

Fox News they feel like the economy overall was getting worse for them and their families.

GDP, which is the broadest measure of total economic activity that we have, did grow by 2% in the

first three months of this year, but a large portion of that growth was driven by businesses

investing in artificial intelligence. It was also driven by an increase

in government spending, which was propelled by the war with Iran pushing up GDP. But voters don't vote

based on the GDP. The annual rate of inflation increased by nearly a percentage point in March

compared to February, and the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index,

an indicator of how optimistic people feel about the economy, hit an all-time low in the history of

the index, which dates back to 1952.

This economic malaise did not emerge suddenly, nor can we be sure that those in charge are

prepared or even want to address it? In fact, quite the

opposite. Much like this war in Iran is Donald Trump's war of choice, this edge of a financial

crisis is Donald Trump's economy of choice. The biggest headwinds facing consumers and businesses

alike are the direct result of this administration's policies.

The Trump administration's on again, off again, implementation of tariffs prevented business owners from making long-term plans, the reciprocal tariffs from other countries

hit hard against American businesses with a foreign market.

Nearly 90% of the economic burden of tariffs fell on U.S. companies or consumers, according to a study

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