OPINION:
End-of-the-year predictions have been around at least since the days of Nostradamus, but what about past predictions? There were plenty of predictions that electing Donald Trump the first time and then reelecting him would cause economic Armageddon.
Democrats and their media mouthpieces have consistently predicted monetary collapse from Mr. Trump’s policies. This year alone, editorials in The New York Times, The Washington Post and most “reporting” by mainstream networks have claimed with absolute certainty that the president’s tariffs would tank the economy.
Now comes a column in The Washington Post by author and investor Zachary Karabell, who writes “The Edgy Optimistic” on Substack. He says that after Mr. Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2, “Most observers predicted sharply higher inflation, domestic and global economic contraction, and widespread spikes in unemployment. None of that happened.”
In fact, inflation is way down from what it was during the Biden administration, the stock market is setting new records, gas prices have dropped way below what they were during the Biden years, and prices for groceries are starting to fall, though less quickly. Mr. Karabell writes: “2025 ends on a positive note for the economy, in terms of the numbers and relative to expectations in April. That should be celebrated.”
It would be if Democrats and the media were honest. Don’t look for them to change their tune. Don’t expect any editorials that say, “We were wrong and Trump was right.” Instead, expect the media and Democrats channeling the Gilda Radner character Emily Litella on a long-ago “Saturday Night Live.” When confronted by Chevy Chase that her editorial response was wrong, she responded, “Never mind.”
Being a liberal means never having to say you were wrong, much less apologize. Consider what New York Times economics columnist Paul Krugman wrote after Mr. Trump was first elected president in 2016: “Now comes the mother of all adverse effects — and what it brings with it is a regime that will be ignorant of economic policy and hostile to any effort to make it work. So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.”
Mr. Krugman doubled down on his prediction of economic disaster if Mr. Trump was reelected in 2024. Wrong again.
Never mind.
The refusal to credit the other party or a person with a different philosophy when successful is a major reason polls show voter disgust with and distrust of Washington and the media. Nothing changes because voters keep electing mostly the same people, and even though ratings for the mainstream media remain low, most who practice what was once called the craft of journalism share the same worldview.
The line Democrats and the media are now promoting is that people aren’t “feeling” the improved economy. When they start to feel it, likely by spring, what will their line be then? One safe prediction is they will find something else, hoping Democrats will win congressional majorities and restart the investigation and impeachment machine.
Should anyone dare to challenge how wrong these false prophets have been in the past and even the present, don’t expect to hear or read any self-reflection, much less an apology or acknowledgment of error. Better for them to ignore success and stick with the Epstein files, even if their wishful thinking should fail to tie Mr. Trump to any illegal behavior, making for an unhappy 2026.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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