Team,
A great interview this morning with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.
2026 is shaping up to be the perfect Trump economy, with rising real wages for Main Street, a return to manufacturing, and growth in a disinflationary environment. As I detail in the interview, the hard data indicates the best economic year since 1998.
At the same time, we viscerally feel the pain of Americans and understand the ravages that inflation took on you because of Joe Biden’s irresponsibility. We are laser-focused on addressing that with economic policies that ultimately will make wages rise faster than the inflation rate.
I always appreciate your comments, and please share this with friends and family.
Peter
TRANSCRIPT
MARIA BARTIROMO: Joining me now in this Sunday Morning Futures exclusive is White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, Peter Navarro. Peter, it’s great to see you this morning.
DR. NAVARRO: Hey, Maria.
BARTIROMO: Can you assess the macroeconomic story for us and how it’s impacting citizens today?
DR. NAVARRO: Absolutely. It’s the perfect Trump economy in 2026. It’s what we call a Goldilocks economy. The last time we saw what we’re seeing now was 1998, and what are we seeing? We’re seeing stock market over 50,000 dollars. That’s Wall Street, but we’re also seeing rising real wages. That’s Main Street. We’re seeing a return to manufacturing. We’re seeing strong, strong growth, and it’s all happening in a disinflation environment where we’re at or near Fed target. We’re near Fed target, and it’s really extraordinary what’s happening, Maria. You and I, your day job during the week is looking at these macro indicators. We’ve had the jobs report come in with blowout numbers. We had the ISM Manufacturing Index, which is dear to my heart because I’m the Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. That’s showing a very robust final jump in manufacturing CPI, as you just reported. Look, and this is happening because of tariffs, not in spite of them, as the critics would say, because if there were any tariff inflation, it would show up in the core. It’s simply not doing that. So everything is hitting on all major cylinders, and the best is yet to come. I’ll tell you, Maria, when Americans get those rebate checks on Tax Day, that’s going to be the biggest rebate, and broad-based, in American history in 2026. Unless of course the geopolitics gets in the way, it’s shaping up to be beautiful. And one last thing I would say on this: the media’s got to take some responsibility here, and the Democrats. To the extent they keep bashing us irrespective of the data, that’s going to drag down confidence. It’s like, come on, see the data, speak the data, be real. Trump economy, perfect, best year since ‘98. We’ll top that. It’s probably one of the best years in modern American economic history, not hyperbole. That’s what the data’s telling us.
BARTIROMO: Well, that is great news. And if you say things are even going to be better than now, I believe you, because I remember back in April of last year, it was so-called Liberation Day when the President talked about his tariffs, and there was so much upset about it. I remember a day that the market was down 2,000 points. You came on my show and you said the Dow is going to 50,000, and of course it did last week. So, congrats on that prediction. But Peter, I want to zero in on one other issue that’s happening, and it is changing the economy at every level, and that is artificial intelligence.
DR. NAVARRO: Sure.
BARTIROMO: AI efficiencies are in fact replacing jobs, and people are worried that longer term we will see their job go away because of AI. What’s the plan at the White House to counter those AI efficiencies, and how serious of an issue are you looking at this?
DR. NAVARRO: It’s a massive issue, and it’s right on the President’s desk and on his radar. I think the one that’s been most publicized is the effect on electricity prices, and the President has already taken action. We’re going to be taking a lot more, but there’s water issues. There’s the loss of agricultural land, and obviously there’s going to be major structural shifts in the labor market. The issue for the United States of America is to balance the need to be at the leading edge and the leader in artificial intelligence, not just for economic reasons, but for national security reasons, because this will be one of the most dangerous weapons of war we’ve ever seen. So, we have to lead China and others on this, but at the same time, we have to be mindful of the impacts across this nation, and so we’re going to have to deal with that. And so, there’s just a lot of thought, a lot of action on this, so stay tuned. But I’m telling you, President Trump is aware of all four dimensions of the problem.
BARTIROMO: Yeah. Because he’s balancing, on the one hand, wanting and needing to be the number one global power on AI beating China, and that means a buildout of data centers. But on the other side, he’s battling people like Senator Bernie Sanders and Richard Blumenthal who are criticizing rapid data center buildout, saying all of these data center buildout, that needs to stop. I mean, you can’t exactly stop if you’re looking to be number one on the global stage in terms of AI.
DR. NAVARRO: What needs to happen, Maria, is that all of these data center builders, Meta on down, need to pay for all – all – of the costs. Emphasize on that. They need to pay. Not only pay for the electricity that they’re using on the grid, but they have to pay for the resiliency that they’re affecting as well. They need to pay for the water. So, there’s action here going forward where we force them to internalize the costs. You can’t be a Luddite like Bernie. I mean, Bernie’s one of the great Luddites, but what you have to do is make sure the American people are not hurt.
BARTIROMO: That’s right.
DR. NAVARRO: And the loss of farmland’s no small thing either. Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, she’s been a really bright light on so many crises we’ve had dealing with egg prices, dealing with beef prices, dealing with AI. I just want to assure people that we’re on it. We also feel your pain, America. We understand the ravages that inflation took on you because of Joe Biden’s irresponsibility, but we are addressing that with economic policies that ultimately will make wages rise faster than the inflation rate.
BARTIROMO: Including the President’s dramatic deregulation.
DR. NAVARRO: And that’s the key to affordability.
BARTIROMO: Yes. Including the President’s dramatic deregulation.
DR. NAVARRO: Yes.
BARTIROMO: But I know that American citizens need to bone up on AI to ensure that they are armed best for this changing jobs market. Peter, the President has a great story to tell for the State of the Union address and, of course, we will be there. Great to see you this morning, sir. Thank you. White House Senior Counselor for Trade Manufacturing, Peter Navarro. Thank you, sir.
DR. NAVARRO: Thank you for letting me help.
