The Trump administration has been focusing on reducing the national debt and improving the economic situation of the American people, particularly those with lower incomes and the middle class, who are struggling with high prices. Trump has emphasized that his policies aim to alleviate the burden on American taxpayers. This idea is behind his trade policies, which he sees as a solution to the country’s debt, trade deficits and the decline of the American worker and the middle class.
Although Trump himself is not among those he claims to represent, he seems to have an understanding of where the American workers feel the pinch. He has taken decisions that aim to address these problems. With tariffs, he wants to “bring in billions of dollars and create jobs, like we’ve never seen before” according to the FAZ.
In this sense, Trump appears as a tribune of the people, who, although a member of the ruling class, claims to know and represent the interests of the common people. “We’ve relied too long on the Internal Revenue Service to tax our great people” he is quoted as saying by the FAZ. Instead, he proposes to use the revenue from foreign sources, such as tariffs, to reduce the burden on American taxpayers.
The fight against the national debt, which he believes is the result of over-spending and inefficiency in government, also aims to reduce government spending. He plans to stop the 52 billion-dollar subsidy program for the American semiconductor industry and instead use economic pressure through tariffs on companies that do business with the US.
The TSMC, a Taiwanese chip giant, was put to the test by Trump, who threatened to impose a 100% tariff on the semiconductors it exports to the US, or for the company to invest in new chip factories in the US and avoid the tariffs. TSMC decided to invest 100 billion dollars in the US and the Chinese even gave up on subsidies from the Chips Act. “They only cared about not paying the tariffs” the FAZ reported.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the subsidies as a waste and claims that the same result can be achieved through tariffs. The TSMC case served as a public relations coup for him and he now sees the “Chips and Science Act” which his predecessor, Biden, launched in 2022 to promote the settlement of modern technologies in the US, as unnecessary. Therefore, he demands that the law be abolished and the remaining funds be used to reduce the national debt or for other purposes, according to the FAZ.
Trump’s fight against the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) also resonated with many Americans, who believe that “America pays too much abroad and not enough for its own citizens” (FAZ). Elon Musk even called USAID a “criminal organization.” Many of these decisions aim to implement Trump’s campaign promises. With the aim of “no longer having American taxpayers pay for radical programs” (FAZ), he has cut the funding for the “Voice of America” and “Radio Liberty.” Trump thinks economically and political considerations seem to be foreign to him, as seen in the example of the radio stations, which served the political influence of the US in the world.
However, all these cutbacks seem to have little impact for now and instead, Trump raises the bar of expectations, but the potential for disappointment is growing. It is a double-edged sword that Trump wields against government spending. On the one hand, the cuts, layoffs and agency closures aim to reduce the national debt and government spending, but on the other hand, they undermine the social security and living standards of many Americans. Despite all the promises, prices do not go down and inflation does not decrease.
Meanwhile, Republican politicians are increasingly feeling the wrath of the public, especially over the layoffs and the associated service reductions, which are causing growing discontent. The reduced government agencies can no longer fulfill their duties in the usual way and this is causing increasing public unrest. Trump and his team, however, seem to be unaffected by this and are continuing to pursue their plans to consolidate the government through the reduction of the state.
The implemented and announced layoffs of government employees are in the tens of thousands. According to an internal memo, the Trump administration plans to cut more than 80,000 positions in the Veterans Ministry (FAZ). Thousands of veterans have already been laid off. Even in the Education Ministry, which was originally planned to be completely abolished, the number of 4,100 employees is to be halved. They want to “dry up the education swamp in Washington and stop the misuse of taxpayer money” (FAZ).
The ministry had a budget of 241 billion dollars. The majority of the budget was spent on “federal financial aid for students” (FAZ), which particularly benefited children from low-income families. Meanwhile, it’s hardly a day that goes by without a new research area having to absorb the consequences of the government’s austerity measures (FAZ). Thousands of scientists in research institutes and government agencies in the US are being sacrificed. Research funds are not being released and universities are being severely cut back, with scholarships being canceled (FAZ). Musk’s DOGE is rummaging through the government agencies, looking for unnecessary positions and underperforming employees. It was just these research and education areas that had kept the US at the world’s forefront, although already under pressure from China.