Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, criticized the liberal media after a visit with President Donald Trump, suggesting they want to see the country fail. He noted that while corporate media focuses on Trump’s tariffs and the volatile stock market, they seem to ignore positive reports on consumer prices and employment. Kirk believes that the media hopes economic struggles can be leveraged for political gain against Trump.
“You’ll just combine this perfectly and this economy will only be better,” Kirk expressed during “The Charlie Kirk Show.” He emphasized that the media might even be rooting for an economic downturn, which, he argues, indicates a deeper malevolence among those wishing hardship upon Americans, overshadowing any sense of loyalty to the nation.
On the employment front, U.S. employers added 177,000 non-farm jobs in April—well above the 133,000 that economists had anticipated. According to the Labor Statistics Bureau, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, with average hourly earnings for non-farm positions increasing compared to March.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.4% in March, which was more than economists had expected, while the Producer Price Index saw its first drop since October, decreasing by 0.4% that same month.
Despite Trump’s tariffs causing stock market fluctuations, the Wall Street Journal noted that the Dow was heading towards its worst April since 1932, having dropped nearly 1,000 points. The S&P 500’s performance since President Trump took office on January 20 was noted as the worst for a sitting president since 1928.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent remarked that fears around a recession were largely driven by media narratives, and pointed out that the stock market had started to rebound by the end of April.
Yet, despite these positive economic indicators, surveys indicate that public opinion on Trump’s economic management remains largely negative. A CBS/YouGov poll found that 48% of Americans believe Trump’s economic policies are worsening, while only 19% felt they were improving.
