The manly industries have not thrived under the current administration. If anything, they’ve suffered.
Manufacturing was supposed to enter a new golden era under Trump. Instead, it lost 68,000 jobs over the past year, and other indicators show contraction for most of his current term (and even before his inauguration). On top of these longer-term problems, manufacturing now faces Trump’s disastrous trade wars, which have crippled export markets and raised costs for U.S. firms. American factories rely on imported materials and equipment, and even switching to tariff-protected domestic suppliers drives up input prices—the intended effect of tariffs.
Agriculture is also struggling. Key inputs like fertilizer and machinery have been tariffed into higher prices, squeezing farmers, while much of the agricultural workforce is being rounded up or fleeing ICE.
Meanwhile, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, a GOP megadonor, publicly criticized not just Trump’s policies but apparent corruption, questioning whether the public interest is being served at all.