The U.S. trade deficit rose to $105.6B in August from an upwardly revised $92.8B in July, the fifth-biggest monthly trade deficit in history. However, if you exclude the first three months of 2025, when imports were pulled forward to front-run tariffs, and March 2022, when pent-up demand was unleashed by the reopening of the economy following the pandemic shutdown, the Aug. 2026 trade deficit was the biggest monthly trade deficit ever.
This proves that despite forcing Americans to pay more for imports, today's trade deficits are larger than ever. By his own standards, Trump is the worst U.S. president ever on trade. Under his watch, the U.S. is losing more on trade than it lost under any prior president. This is a fact that no one can dispute, but which no Republican will acknowledge, as they continue to attribute success to a trade policy that has demonstrably failed.