Apr 11, 2025

President promises more jobs despite nearly half of Americans fearing loss of work Share An AI-generated video that's mocking US President Donald Trump 's tariffs is making the rounds on social media, as Americans brace for the potential impact of the administration's recent policy changes. The video is a meme depicting Americans working in sweatshops, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, and concluding with Trump's slogan: "Make America Great Again." The meme has gone viral on X, where a single post on the platform showed that the video has been viewed 16.8 million times. There are also reports saying that the meme has also gone viral on Chinese social media. Chinese memes on American re-industrialization rolling in. lol the music. 😂 pic.twitter.com/GZE2jHDgWZ The video pokes fun at Trump's promise to revitalise the American industry by bringing factories and generating more jobs in the US through the implementation of tariffs . These "retaliatory" tariffs reach as high as 50%, which Trump later paused this week for a three-month period. However, Trump continued to implement tariffs on China, increasing the previous 34% to a staggering 125%, which would be added to the country's existing 20% tariffs. The increase reflects the growing tensions between both economic giants, with China also slapping 125% tariffs on US goods in response, the NPR reported . Concerns from Americans Trump's tariffs come in the wake of growing concerns from Americans about their jobs, according to new research from Justworks and The Harris Poll. In a survey between March 20 and 24, more than half (55%) of working Americans are worried about their perks or benefits being reduced. Nearly half of them (46%) are also worried that they could get laid off . These concerns come as 60% of working Americans believe policy changes will have a direct impact on them personally over the next year. These policy changes cover a wide variety — from tariffs, potential changes to key provisions of the tax code, as well as federal funding pauses. More than half (52%) of employees have admitted that they feel too overwhelmed to keep up with the recent policy changes, as 71% believe focusing too much on the headlines is not good for their mental health. "The message is clear: workers see policy changes as the bigger wildcard right now," Justworks said on its website . "Small business leaders and HR pros should take note—nearly half of employees surveyed (45%) say they’re looking to their HR team to help them understand the impact of recent policy changes." Free newsletter Our daily newsletter is FREE and keeps you up-to-date with the world of HR. Please complete the form below and click on subscribe for daily newsletters from HRD Australia. SIGN UP