Peter Schiff: Trump Should Emulate Washington

On Sunday, Peter revived his Sunday night podcast habit for a special President’s Day themed episode. In it he reflects on the character of George Washington and how far the country’s economic health has fallen since the founding of our country. President Trump can follow Washington’s example if he wants to get the country back on track.

Peter argues that George Washington’s legacy stands apart from every other leader in U.S. history. He commends his restraint and vision:

George Washington is a unique American. We owe our whole country to George Washington. I mean, not only did he defeat the British in the Revolutionary War as our general, but we owe our republic to Washington. There was a movement to make George Washington the king of America. But if George Washington wanted to be the king, he probably would have been the king and we’d be a monarchy. But George Washington didn’t want the crown. … He put country above himself.

Moving to America today, Peter stresses the difference between a republic and a democracy—a nuance often overlooked by public figures, like Elon Musk:

I know Elon Musk has been making a lot of posts about democracy. And I really wish that he would correct that. … He’s been posting a lot of good stuff. He posts Ron Paul now, Milton Friedman, I mean, a lot of good stuff. And of course, he’s highlighting all the corruption and fraud in government that they’re uncovering, which doesn’t surprise me. But I think it’s great to bring it out in the open. But he should use that soapbox to educate people about republican government and to be proud that America is a republic. We’re not a monarchy, and we are not a democracy.

Turning to last week’s economic reports, Peter scrutinizes producer price data and warns that the numbers signal a troubling departure from the Fed’s targets:

We got a much hotter than expected CPI, and that was followed up on Thursday by a hotter than expected PPI. … They were looking for an increase of 0.3 for the month of January. Instead, we got an increase of 0.4. But even worse, the prior month, December of last year, they initially told us that prices were up by just 0.2. Now they’re telling us that they got it wrong. They were up by 0.5. That is a big upward revision to the prior month. That’s a big number. Again, you annualize 0.5. You’re at 6%, right? Nowhere near this BS 2% target.
Continuing his fiscal critique, Peter explains the unsustainable growth in interest expenses on the national debt—a cost that threatens to outpace even major domestic programs like Social Security:
Also, last year, fiscal 2023, we spent $1.13 trillion on interest. I mean, by far a record, which we’re going to beat this fiscal year, but more than we spent on national defense. The only program that’s more expensive than interest on the national debt is Social Security, and that’s going to change. I think by next year, we’ll be spending more on interest on the national debt than we spend on Social Security. Then we’ll be spending more on interest on the national debt than we spend on Medicare and Medicaid combined. It’s going to be the number one line item in the budget, and there’s no stopping it.

Peter offers President Trump a solution to the country’s deficit problem, one that would align with George Washington’s governance:

All Trump has to do is one simple thing. Don’t sign the increase in the debt ceiling. In fact, come out tomorrow on Washington’s birthday and say , ‘In honor of General George Washington, let it be known that I will not sign another increase in the debt ceiling no matter what…’ Trump can say, ‘The buck stops here with me. No more deficit spending. That’s it.’

Jokes aside, real fiscal discipline will be painful but necessary. Unchecked debt is worse than short-term recessionary pain:

Talking about making big cuts and making big cuts are two very different political animals. But if Trump doesn’t have the stomach for the fight, who are we going to elect that will? So it is possible to do it. It isn’t going to be easy, but I think that’s the only way to do it because if Congress isn’t put in that box, they’ll never cut. The only thing that will rein them in will be a crisis. … It would be a healthy recession. It would be a long overdue recession that would help pave the way for a really solid recovery.
Be sure to check out Joel’s market commentary from last week’s surge on Friday’s episode of the SchiffGold Gold Wrap!

Get Peter Schiff’s most important gold headlines once per week – click here – for a free subscription to his exclusive weekly email updates.
Interested in learning how to buy gold and buy silver?
Call 1-888-GOLD-160 and speak with a Precious Metals Specialist today!