Americans are currently more anxious about their economic future than they were during the 2008 financial meltdown or the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by what top economist Justin Wolfers calls unprecedented “policy chaos” emanating from the White House.
Lowest Confidence In History
Despite President Donald Trump's insistence that the economy is “BOOMING” and his claims that Americans “have never had it better,” consumer sentiment tells a different story, according to this economist.
Wolfers notes that consumer confidence has plummeted to its lowest level in measured history. Speaking in a recent interview, in a direct critique of the administration’s strategy, Wolfers states: “This doesn’t feel like a White House that’s running a coherent, well-thought-out economic policy.”
Consumer confidence weakened for a fifth consecutive month in December 2025, according to the US Consumer Confidence Board data.
Wolfers asserts that “policy chaos is an economic variable” in itself. When leadership is unpredictable—imposing and reversing tariffs or rattling sabers—uncertainty forces businesses to delay hiring and households to postpone major purchases.
Policy chaos is an economic variable. When leaders threaten the Fed, fire the BLS head, impose tariffs then reverse them, and rattle sabers, no one knows tomorrow's news. Uncertainty makes firms delay hiring/investing—and households delay big buys. pic.twitter.com/swNGBH4dOw
Central to this instability is the administration's open conflict with nonpartisan economic guardians.
Wolfers highlights the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer as a critical tipping point. President Trump fired McEntarfer in August 2025, accusing her of “faking the Jobs Numbers” to aid his political rivals.
McEntarfer has since warned that politicizing data is a “dangerous step,” comparing it to “messing with the traffic lights” and driving the economy blind.
‘Department Of Recriminations’
The volatility extends to monetary policy. Wolfers warns that Fed Chair Jerome Powellis now “going to war” to defend the central bank’s independence against administration attacks.
Describing the Justice Department's reported targeting of the Fed as the “Department of Recriminations,” Wolfers argues that the White House is attempting to “criminalize” independent public service.
He warns that these moves risk turning the Federal Reserve into a “Federal Subserve,” creating an environment where “no one knows tomorrow’s news” and economic stability is held hostage by political whims.
Attempting to criminalize the actions of an independent public servant, Fed Chair Jay Powell, for the sin of acting independently—in the public interest rather than the President's political interest—is an outrage. It's bad economics, bad politics, bad for the rule of law, bad…
So far in 2026, the Nasdaq 100 index has declined by 0.23%, whereas the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices have risen by 0.70% and 2.17%, respectively.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, closed lower on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.49% at $690.36, while the QQQ declined 1.07% to $619.55.
The futures of the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones indices were trading mixed on Thursday.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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