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Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, January 08, 2026

"It's not just that American manufacturing under President Donald Trump is shrinking," argued journalist David Shuster on his Blue Amp Substack. "It's that U.S. manufacturing is shrinking under a lunatic who never tires of boasting that he alone can make U.S. manufacturing great again."

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Protectionism is failing to revive manufacturing

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-- The Economist (@economist.com) Jan 8, 2026 at 7:50 AM

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... Shuster observed that U.S. manufacturing actually grew under Biden. "Output climbed to record levels. Investment poured into factories, supply chains stabilized following the Covid hurdles, and the dull, unglamorous business of making things regained a measure of dignity. The boost in U.S. manufacturing was achieved not with chest-thumping speeches or tariff tantrums, but with policies designed for the real world -- predictability, infrastructure, and a government that did not wake up each morning looking for a trade war to fight," Shuster wrote. ...

In that comment, my guess is that "predictability" is very important.

Why would companies want to make multi-year, approaching decade-long, investments when Pres Trump has shown time and time again that he will change his monetary policy on a whim on a week by week, even day by day, basis?


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-07 02:31 AM | Reply

Anyone who thought electing a billionaire who appointed other billionaires to fix the mess created by billionaires is a special kind of stupid.

#2 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-01-07 07:06 AM | Reply

The only people who didn't see this coming were the idiots who voted for him three times.

The only people dumber than them are those who sat out the 2024 election out of spite.

#3 | Posted by jpw at 2026-01-07 09:36 AM | Reply

That's more people than voted for either candidate.

No Show, is the President.

Venezuela had a similar problem with Low Turnout.

The Americans said that made Maduro illegitimate.

Why don't they say that about Trump?

He had no clear majority with registered,eligible, voters. More people abstained than voted for him or Harris.

Why isn't he being kidnapped to The Hague?

For being Illegitimate?

#4 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-01-07 10:42 AM | Reply

Keep being flippant about your role in this debacle.

Might make you feel better but it only makes you sound like a self righteous schmuck.

#5 | Posted by jpw at 2026-01-07 02:16 PM | Reply

"Manufacturing Is Collapsing Under Trump"

How's manufacturing in Venezuela? Can we just add their numbers to our numbers and make things better?

#6 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-07 02:22 PM | Reply

fate is going to say "Hold my Beer!"

#7 | Posted by fresno500 at 2026-01-08 03:30 AM | Reply

Brainwashed morons have allowed all of this to happen.

How we managed to allow America-hating Repubiclowns to destroy the USA is still hard to fathom.

#8 | Posted by chuffy at 2026-01-08 07:26 PM | Reply

How we managed to allow America-hating Repubiclowns to destroy the USA is still hard to fathom.
#8 | Posted by chuffy

Republican thought leaders are willing participants in Foundations of Geopolitics.
The other Republicans are easy marks for Foundations of Geopolitics.

#9 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-08 07:36 PM | Reply

... It's that U.S. manufacturing is shrinking under a lunatic who never tires of boasting that he alone can make U.S. manufacturing great again ...

Things, and uncertainty, such as the following do not help US manufacturing.

Tariffs and low stocks propel aluminium costs to records for US consumers
www.reuters.com

... Aluminium consumers in the United States are paying record high prices, significantly above the level import levies and transport costs would warrant, as tight supplies globally aggravate the impact of tariffs and low U.S. inventories.

Needed by industries such as automotive, aerospace, packaging and construction, aluminium prices have knock-on effects for the wider economy as they raise manufacturing costs, squeeze margins and ultimately drive inflation.

President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on U.S. aluminium imports to 50% in June to encourage investment in local production.

Since then aluminium costs for U.S. consumers have risen by 40% to above $5,200 a metric ton. ...



#10 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-08 07:57 PM | Reply

@#10

My guess is that those increased costs have not yet made it to the end-consumer ....

#11 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-08 07:58 PM | Reply

"Shuster observed that U.S. manufacturing actually grew under Biden"

This is stupid. Anyone with two brain cells knows why manufacturing and employment numbers went up under Biden, and it had nothing to do with his policies.

#12 | Posted by lfthndthrds at 2026-01-09 12:28 PM | Reply

The bloated, brain dead------------------- is killing American manufacturing like it's Ivana.

#13 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2026-01-09 12:57 PM | Reply


My guess is that those increased costs have not yet made it to the end-consumer ....

#11 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

Thats a poor partisan guess. Indicates knowing nothing about manufacturing, you're just hoping against all logic this can't be true.

This is why I say you've never worked in tech, you don't understand anything about business, or you're so partisan as to be ignored on anything outside of partisan opinions.

The reality is the price you are paying for a product isn't the cost to manufacture that particular item, but the cost with the predicted price to manufacture it today.

The reason for this with inflation or spikes the manufacture needs to "raise" capital to purchase this months raw material.
This is why gas jump next day on international events. Using your logic these events wouldn't affect prices, but everyone knows prices immediately jump so down the chain everyone can pay for todays raw material price changes.

#14 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-01-09 01:08 PM | Reply

www.npr.org
FTA - Turnout in 2024 represented 63.9% of eligible voters, the second-highest percentage in the last 100 years, according to the University of Florida Election Lab

No Show, is the President. Got a source Effete?

#15 | Posted by mattm at 2026-01-09 02:52 PM | Reply

This is stupid. Anyone with two brain cells knows why manufacturing and employment numbers went up under Biden, and it had nothing to do with his policies.

#12 | Posted by lfthndthrds

The question is whether those people with two brain cells know why it is FALLING under Trump. Do YOU have two brain cell?

#16 | Posted by gtbritishskull at 2026-01-09 05:07 PM | Reply

Thats a poor partisan guess. Indicates knowing nothing about manufacturing, you're just hoping against all logic this can't be true.
This is why I say you've never worked in tech, you don't understand anything about business, or you're so partisan as to be ignored on anything outside of partisan opinions.
The reality is the price you are paying for a product isn't the cost to manufacture that particular item, but the cost with the predicted price to manufacture it today.
The reason for this with inflation or spikes the manufacture needs to "raise" capital to purchase this months raw material.
This is why gas jump next day on international events. Using your logic these events wouldn't affect prices, but everyone knows prices immediately jump so down the chain everyone can pay for todays raw material price changes.

#14 | Posted by oneironaut

You are the one who knows nothing about business.

Businesses charge what people are willing to pay. Regardless of their input costs.

When you have events that potentially disrupt the supply of a product people want to stock up to make sure they don't get caught without it later, so they are willing to pay more. So businesses charge more. That is how capitalism works.

If you were right, there would be no such thing as "price gouging". A hurricane coming through does not suddenly cause a generator to cost three times as much to manufacture. Or suddenly make gasoline multiple times more costly to produce. But "price gouging" is very real, and people complain about it regularly during disasters.

You are the perfect example of why manufacturing is declining under Trump. Because conservatives don't understand business, or the economy. Once the adults (Democrats) who actually understand economics get back in charge then manufacturing will probably start increasing again.

#17 | Posted by gtbritishskull at 2026-01-09 05:26 PM | Reply

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