Paul Krugman may no longer work for “the failing New York Times,” but President Donald Trump appears to still follow the work of the Nobel Prize-winning economist, who now publishes his work on the newsletter platform Substack.
“Paul Krugman of the New York Times has been predicting Doom and Gloom ever since my great election success in 2016,” Trump wrote of Krugman on Truth Social, in a post published just before midnight on Sunday. “In other words, he has been wrong for YEARS, as ALL markets have been hitting new HIGHS, and are now higher than ever before. People stayed out of the ‘BEST MARKET IN HISTOY’ because of this Trump Deranged BUM. Sue them!”
Trump may be unaware that Krugman is not with the Times anytime, but it’s possible that in ranting against him, he may have helped Krugman sell some newsletter subscriptions. It’s also not clear who he wants to “sue” Krugman, who is an economist but does not generally give investment advice, and whose writings are under clear First Amendment protections.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Krugman had appeared on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC show last week and on Bloomberg TV more recently, so Trump may have been reacting to one of those TV appearances.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, a distinguished professor at the City University of New York, explains why he thinks Christopher Waller won’t be chosen to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell https://t.co/rBEWR0zBPR pic.twitter.com/ANu9cT2nur
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) August 8, 2025
Per The Daily Beast, Krugman noted that he is “flattered” by the mention, and that “He must think people are listening… I might add ‘Deranged BUM’ to my profile.”
Krugman, in the MSNBC appearance, had criticized Trump for his firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“If you actually know anything about how they [jobs reports] are put together, it would require basically hundreds, if not thousands, of people to be in on the conspiracy,” Krugman said on the show, as reported by the Daily Beast. “This is just silly stuff, and it’s clear that if Trump sees a number or a fact he doesn’t like, he claims that it’s a conspiracy against him.”
Krugman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008. It’s possible that Trump, who has been vocal about wanting to win a Nobel Peace Prize, is jealous of someone who has won that honor while he has not.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.