Editor’s note: This is the second in a series on campaign issues in this year’s presidential election.

Donald Trump’s standard stump speech paints a dark future for America if Kamala Harris wins the presidential election. Conversely, he said he wants to go back to his term in office when the economy was the “best in the nation’s history.”

All this tells me is that Trump is displaying signs of dementia, and if you want the truth about our economy, just go to FactCheck.org and look up the numbers.

Here’s information from that website: “The statistics for the entirety of Donald Trump’s time in office are nearly all compiled. As we did for his predecessor four years ago, we present a final look at the numbers.” During Trump’s four years in the White House:

The economy lost 2.7 million jobs. The unemployment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points to 6.4%.

The international trade deficit Trump promised to reduce went up. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in 2020 was the highest since 2008 and increased 36.3% from 2016.

The number of people lacking health insurance rose by 3 million.

The federal debt held by the public went up, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion.

Home prices rose 27.5%.

Illegal immigration increased. Apprehensions at the Southwest border rose 14.7% in 2020 compared with 2016.

Coal production declined 26.5%, and coal-mining jobs dropped by 25%.

Handgun production rose 12.5% in 2020 compared with 2016, setting a new record.

The murder rate in 2020 rose to the highest level since 1997.

Let’s examine some of those numbers starting with unemployment. In January, 2021, the start of Trump’s term, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent and peaked in April 2020 at 14.8 percent during the COVID pandemic. The rate was 6.4 in his last month in office and has fallen to the current rate of 4.3 percent.

On the subject of jobs, former President Bill Clinton made an interesting observation during his address to the Democratic National Convention in August: Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, the U.S. has created about 51 million jobs with about 50 million under Democratic presidents. The Poynter Institute rates Clinton’s claim as “mostly true.”

“A total of 50.6 million jobs were created during the presidencies of George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. About 1 million, or 2.6%, were created under Republican presidents Bush, Bush, and Trump,“ according to the institute. As noted, some 2.7 million jobs were lost under Trump.

Finally, let’s look at immigration numbers, a top issue in this year’s election. During COVID, illegal immigration dropped rapidly, but as soon as the economy recovered, so did the border crossings. The lure was more job openings in our growing economy.

Biden’s campaign has correctly stated that the number of illegal detentions is fewer now than when Trump took office. According to Homeland Security statistics, in January 2021, that number was 127,550, while in August 2024, the latest month available, the number was 95,145.

For years, Congress has wrestled with immigration issues, and earlier this year, both chambers came up with a compromise bill to satisfy even the most conservative senators. On the cusp of reform, Trump steps in and tells Republicans to kill the bill because it would help his campaign, never mind the benefit of our country.

Left with few options, Biden issues a series of executive orders to stem the flow. Yes, it’s something he could have done earlier, but as with most policies, the Constitution gives deference to Congress. Joe Biden respects that tradition having served 36 years in the Senate before being elected as vice president.

Next: A look at the country’s future.