Peter Navarro, who is President Donald Trump's senior counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, debunked Wednesday a major Democratic talking point about the president's tariffs and its impact on manufacturing. 

Navarro declared that the biggest Democratic "lie" about the tariffs harming a "blue collar revival," was false because the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index for January showed that manufacturing was expanding in the United States.

"Democrats keep insisting Trump's tariffs are killing manufacturing," Navarro said in a video on X. "They just got caught in that globalist lie by one number. 52.6."

The number refers to the manufacturing PMI for January, which Navarro claimed showed that manufacturing is on the rise after it saw a nearly five-point jump in a single month. Navarro said anything above 50 means manufacturing is expanding. 

"[This] kind of move signals a real shift in the economy," Navarro said. "It's also the highest reading since 2022 and the first expansion in more than a year. Here's the part the fake news won't tell you, the ISM was late in catching up to reality.

"Throughout 2025, manufacturing productivity surged," he continued. "Industrial production was already moving higher. The real economy had turned before the surveys admitted it. This is exactly how a manufacturing revival works." 

Navarro claimed that typically "blue collar" jobs, like construction, iron working and electrician jobs, normally come after capital investments, and permanent manufacturing jobs come after factories are built. 

"So the Democrats big lie just collapsed," Navarro added. "Trust in Trump. Elections matter."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.