Don’t Cheer a Recession
Democrats are hoping Trump will discredit himself with a recession, while the Left sometimes fantasizes about crisis destabilizing capitalism itself. But economic crises cause massive human suffering and have recently redounded more to the Right than the Left.
A television station broadcasts President Donald Trump speaking during a Rose Garden event on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on April 2, 2025. (Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“There were many things that we knew would happen,” said Kamala Harris as the stock market plunged last week in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs. A smile crept across her face as she spontaneously added, “I’m not here to say, ‘I told you so. . .’” Harris erupted into her distinctive laugh as the crowd at the Leading Women Defined Summit whooped in delighted applause.
Democrats can barely contain their schadenfreude at Trump’s economic troubles. If their strategy is to sit back and give the Republicans just enough rope to hang themselves with, it appears the unspooling has begun.
The prospect of a Trump recession fulfills a liberal fantasy dating back to the first Trump administration. Back then, moderate liberal commentator Bill Maher spoke for many when he said:
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