It's not just the Epstein Files that Trump wants to distract you from.
It's the Trump affordability crisis.
And the Trump jobs crisis.
And the Trump healthcare crisis.
And the Trump housing crisis, too
Ahead of the latest report on home sales from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), analysts had expected a slight gain, reports CNBC.
They were wrong.
- Pending home sales plunged 9.3% month over month in December
- Sales fell month-to-month in all regions of the U.S.
- Nationally, sales were 3% lower than December 2024
The new data is "dampening the 2026 outlook," writes CNBC.
This cooling momentum — coming at a time when lower mortgage rates would normally be encouraging buyers to step into the market — may signal a slower-than-expected start to the crucial spring buying season.
Meanwhile, new buyers navigating the turbulent Trump economy are finding it harder than ever to afford their first home.
According to NAR, the number of homes sold to individual investors or second-home buyers rose from 16% to 18% year over year, and the number of all-cash transactions also rose between November to December.
It's Epstein and the economy — and Trump's still stupid
Mainstream journalists still act primarily as a stenographers for Trump's lies and insanities.
Each day, they treat Trump with a deference not normally shown to a 79-year-old dementia patient.
They sanewash Trump's Greenland pronouncements, Venezuela war crimes, and the ridiculous Minnesota subpoenas just served on Governor Tim Walz and others.
They ignore Trump's lawlessness when it comes to releasing the Epstein Files — even though he's the one who signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law just weeks ago.
They fail to push back on Trump's ludicrous claims about the strength of the economy — making themselves complicit in the daily gaslighting of America.
But the reality of Trump's abysmal economic performance can't be hidden:
- Trump tariffs have fueled inflation and crippled small businesses
- Trump has plunged U.S. manufacturing into a recession — with declines for 10 straight months and 68,000 jobs lost over the past year
- Trump has failed in his promise to cut grocery prices — coffee prices are up 20%, beef 16.4%, with many other supermarket staples rising at more than double the rate of inflation.
- Trump has slashed Medicaid, CHIP — and sent healthcare premiums soaring more than 100% for 24 million Americans relying on the ACA
- Even as he slashed the social safety net for millions, Trump's tax cuts for the rich skyrocketed the deficit — and propelled the national debt to unprecedented levels
- As the rich get richer — and keep spending — America's "K-shaped economy" is concealing the financial struggles of a nation where consumers are taking on debt to cover daily expenses and delinquencies on credit cards, auto loans, and student loans are rising
As he proved in his first term, Trump is a president who looks out for the wealthy and the connected.
For the rest of us, he's a president we simply can't afford.
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From 2020: It's the Economy. And Trump's Stupid.
It’s the Economy. And Trump’s Stupid.
Trump is the dumbest person America could have picked to lead us through these complicated times
Richard Hine
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