In the annals of bad judgment, Elon Musk's picked fight with President Trump over federal spending stands out as a beaut.
While it's true that the recently passed congressional budget, a.k.a., the "Big Beautiful Bill" involved a small rise in spending in the bid to get it through, which was Musk's beef, a beef so strong he ended his relationship with President Trump, it also contained critical tax cuts which usually yield more in tax revenue than congressional estimates. as the economy booms. But there's an even bigger story out there that the press isn't reporting: Trump is already cutting the deficit -- and on his watch, inflation is going down, too.
The last two days, as highlighted by Wall Street economist Brian Wesbury, shows the big picture:
Core CPI up just 0.2%. But, year-ago comparisons are tough and the year-over-year “core” rose slightly to 2.9%. Better to look at 3-month annualized changes. The 3-month annualized increase was just 2.4%, down from 3.6% in February. Tariffs don’t cause inflation. Follow M2.
— Brian Wesbury (@wesbury) July 15, 2025
This, too:
First 5 months of Trump Presidency. Total deficit $498 billion. Same five months in last year of Biden Presidency the deficit was $741 billion. pic.twitter.com/h28H5yBCi1
— Brian Wesbury (@wesbury) July 14, 2025
Why does Wesbury suggest we look at just the last three months instead of the whole federal fiscal year (which begins in October) up until this point on inflation?
Because those are the months Trump, and only Trump, was in office.
He suggests the same for the deficit, but can go back five months. During Trump's time in office, the federal deficit slid to $498 billion from $741 billion in the same time period a year earlier, when Joe Biden was in office. That's about a third lower between the amount paid out and the amount paid in, meaning, the federal government is no longer spending like it used to.
Why is the press missing this story? Well, because they are counting it from the fiscal year's beginning, not from the Trump administration's second term beginning, which is a far more useful indicator. Trump is slashing the deficit and only the smarter guys on Wall Street, like Brian Wesbury, can see it. The rest are reading reports like these and saying the deficit is up, unable to see that they are lumping Joe Biden's bad figures in with President Trump's figures, creating a doo-doo in the punchbowl kind of distortion
That was the crux of Elon's beef with Trump, the one he made such a stink about, hurling insane, ad hominem insults and vowing to found a third party that he estranged himself from Trump, despite holding a very privileged position of trust.
Was it worth it, Elon? Trump in fact is doing exactly what you wanted all along. You're a code and numbers guy, how could you miss that?
Some things we can't understand.
