Some arguments collapse the moment they are challenged by someone who knows what they’re talking about. That is what happened when economist Jeffrey Sachs responded to Donald Trump’s long-standing claim about trade.
Trump has repeatedly said that the United States has been “ripped off” by other countries for nearly fifty years. It’s a line he uses often to blame trade deficits on foreign exploitation and to portray the U.S. as a victim of global deals.
At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Sachs directly addressed that claim. He began by quoting Trump’s own words: “The United States has been ripped off like no country probably in the history of the world has been ripped off for 45–50 years.”
He then explained how trade deficits actually work.
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“If you take your credit card and go shopping and you run up a large credit card debt, you’re running a trade deficit, with all those shops,” Sachs said.
“It would be pretty strange then if you blame all the shop owners for having sold you all those things. ‘You’re ripping me off, you’re ripping me off.’ That is the level of the understanding of the President of the United States.”
He made clear that a trade deficit is not proof of bad trade agreements or foreign cheating. It is a reflection of how much a country consumes relative to how much it produces.
“The trade deficit does not represent at all trade policies. It represents spending relative to production or earnings. We call that an identity. I teach it on the second day of my course in international monetary economics. Trump never made it to the second day.”
Sachs continued, “He says, ‘You’re running a trade deficit and look, they’re all cheating me.’ But all that’s happening is that the United States is outspending its national income.”
Trump trolled brutally by an economist..😂
Make this viral.. pic.twitter.com/UozrTHz0Tu— Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Memes,🇮🇳 (@memenist_) August 2, 2025
He did not offer personal attacks. He simply laid out the facts. According to Sachs, blaming trade partners ignores the basic reason the deficit exists — domestic overspending.
Trump often singles out countries like China, Germany, and Mexico. He accuses them of unfair practices. He suggests they have manipulated the United States for years. But Sachs pointed out that the real cause is internal. The country is buying more than it sells. That imbalance is what creates the deficit.
Featured image via X screengrab
