Trump’s Election Jolted Manufacturing Back to Life
We’ve officially reached the halfway mark of the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second presidency. What we learned today is that the labor market is stronger than thought, factory jobs are coming back, Canada is not a reliable trading partner for strategic resources, and the legacy media’s campaign to stop Elon Musk is unconstrained by things like accuracy or objectivity.
The January JOLTS report underscores a nascent blue-collar boom, particularly notable in manufacturing, as job openings and hires rose significantly in the early weeks of Trump’s second term.
Manufacturing job openings climbed by 30,000, marking the first significant increase in several months and reaching their highest level since September. Manufacturing hires also increased by 30,000, their first substantial rise in months. Additionally, the number of workers voluntarily leaving manufacturing jobs—a strong indicator of confidence—increased, further highlighting growing optimism in this politically and economically sensitive sector.
This manufacturing resurgence dovetails with the latest S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report, which registered its strongest growth since June 2022. The report highlighted substantial increases in production and new orders, driven in part by businesses and customers building inventories. Despite persistent claims from the mainstream media that tariffs would harm economic growth, the underlying data demonstrates a strikingly different reality. Factory sector activity has not retreated. Manufacturing is awakening after two years of stagnation under Biden. Rather than deterring investment, Trump’s policies appear to have encouraged manufacturers to invest more in domestic production, strengthening the foundation of America’s industrial base.
Canada’s Power Move: A Lightbulb Moment
Trade tensions with Canada have reached new heights as Trump responded forcefully to Ontario’s decision to impose an electricity levy aimed at U.S. consumers. Ontario’s electricity levy has become a flashpoint, illustrating the profound risks of American reliance on Canadian imports for strategic goods and resources. Critics who previously argued that Trump’s 2018 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum were unnecessary—because Canada was supposedly a dependable ally—have been proven wrong by Ontario’s aggressive economic maneuver. The province’s willingness to use electricity exports as leverage exposes a dangerous vulnerability in America’s economic and national security infrastructure, raising critical questions about the wisdom of depending heavily on even friendly neighbors.
Canada’s electric move should be a lightbulb moment for Americans. If Canada is willing to restrict energy exports to exert economic leverage, Trump officials argue, what would prevent Canada—or any other trading partner—from weaponizing exports in response to unrelated policy disagreements over issues ranging from taxes to global security to social policies? What’s to stop Canada from cutting off electricity (or steel or auto parts) if they do not like the Trump administration’s stance on trans athletes, or Ukraine, or abortion, or corporate taxes? Trump’s tariff policy is positioning the United States to guard against potential economic coercion, reinforcing the argument for robust domestic production of steel, aluminum, lumber, and other essential goods.
Musk Takes Aim at Entitlement Fraud
In Washington, meanwhile, billionaire entrepreneur and presidential adviser Elon Musk sat down for an interview with Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow. Musk argued that reducing fraud and improper payments in Social Security and Medicare could generate significant savings.
“The waste report in entitlement spending, you know, which is all of the, which is most of the federal spending, is entitlements,” Musk said. “So, that’s like the big one to eliminate, that’s the sort of half trillion maybe $600, $700 billion a year.”
Rather than accurately reporting Musk’s position, Bloomberg News claimed: “Elon Musk called entitlement spending — benefits including Social Security and Medicare — key targets for cuts, which contradicts President Donald Trump’s pledge to not touch those programs.”
The story went on to describe his point about fraud as “unproven claims,” as if a television interview was a court of law or scientific paper. This is one of the more annoying and credibility-destroying tics of legacy media in the age of Trump, insisting on describing anything a Trump administration official or the president himself says as “without evidence” or “unproven.” That’s barely disguised editorializing and not reporting.
Traditionally, the way media outlets handled disputed claims was to print the claim by the public official and then print someone disputing it. Reporters were not supposed to pass judgment on matters of public deliberation—at least not in their news stories. Now it has become almost a requirement for a news story to debate with Trump and his officials rather than reporting on them.
The broader story from Bloomberg—and the X.com post announcing it—is misleading. Or should we say: it makes unproven claims, without evidence. Musk’s call to root out waste and fraud would not reduce benefits. Rather, it would strengthen these programs, ensuring they are sustainable for future generations.
The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog has itself reported billions in improper payments in recent years. Addressing this issue directly aligns with Trump’s explicit commitment to protecting entitlement benefits for legitimate beneficiaries. Musk’s critics in the media obscure this reality, repeating Democrat talking points designed to stoke fear among retirees and beneficiaries rather than engaging seriously with the facts. Far from conflicting with Trump’s pledges, Musk’s proposals complement them, targeting wasteful spending and ensuring that funds are properly directed toward genuine beneficiaries.