Trade Deficit Surges

“The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that a 12.4 percent jump in the goods deficit in December had contributed to the record $891.3 billion goods trade shortfall last year. The overall trade deficit surged 12.5 percent to $621.0 billion in 2018, the largest since 2008.” Reuters

Many on both sides agree that the increased trade deficit is not a sign of economic malaise, and, combined with other trends, is in fact an indicator that the economy is generally doing well:

However, the left criticizes Trump for focusing on reducing trade...