Trump Urges Followers to Sue Economists After Feud With Paul Krugman

• Trump attacks economist Paul Krugman, calling him a "demented lunatic."
• Urges followers to sue economists for misleading market forecasts.

In an August 28, 2023, post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump attacked Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, labeling him a “demented lunatic.” Trump also urged his followers to sue “doom and gloom” economists for misleading market forecasts, accusing Krugman of dissuading the public from capitalizing on what he described as the “BEST MARKET IN HISTORY.”

On August 29, 2023, Newsweek, The Independent, and The New Republic reported that the post was part of Trump’s defense of his administration's economic track record. In his post, Trump claimed that markets had reached “new HIGHS” and remained at unprecedented levels despite ongoing criticism from economists like Krugman.

Krugman’s comments on Trump’s economic policies have fueled tension over time. Most recently, Krugman condemned Trump’s decision to dismiss the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner after the July 2024 jobs data showed only 73,000 new jobs added. Trump had dismissed the report as “fake news” and politically motivated. In response, Krugman wrote that Trump’s rhetoric mirrored long-standing claims of deep-state conspiracies.

In addition, Krugman voiced opposition to Trump’s tariff policies. In his Substack posts, he described the policies as a reversal of decades of trade liberalization, warning that such measures create instability for businesses and elevate the risk of economic downturns. In an early August Substack post, economist Paul Krugman called Trump’s tariff strategies “deluded,” arguing they undermined global confidence in U.S. trade policy.

In an August 29, 2023, interview with The Daily Beast, Krugman responded to the attack, joking that he might add the phrase “demented lunatic” to his online profile. Krugman also noted that Trump’s remarks suggested public engagement with his economic critiques, calling the attention “flattering.”

Meanwhile, in the digital asset markets, prices saw slight losses. According to CoinMarketCap, as of 15:00 UTC on August 29, 2023, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $26,113, with its 24-hour trading volume down by 1.48%. In addition, Ethereum (ETH) was priced at $1,655, reflecting a 2.11% decrease over the same 24-hour period.