Trump claims America is ‘winning so much.’ The IMF agrees, adding that Trump’s trade policies are the only thing holding it back from even more

The U.S. economy remains the envy of the world in many respects, at least in President Donald Trump’s telling. But its lofty position is threatened by, among other things, America’s own chronic inability to keep a balanced budget, and the administration’s trade policy is part of what’s holding it back from doing so.

In his State of the Union address this week, Trump said the U.S. was “winning again, and in fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it.” Despite suffering from low approval ratings, Trump might soon score points for the economy, courtesy of the International Monetary Fund, which this week highlighted how the U.S. remains in many ways an economic powerhouse. 

Strong economic growth, rising productivity, and a labor market that has proved adaptable and resilient combine to paint a rosy picture of the U.S. economy, according to Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director.

“We expect that a buoyant U.S. economy will continue to grow strongly throughout this and next year,” Georgieva said on Wednesday, shortly after h...