President Donald Trump, the Trump White House, and top administration officials are insisting Wednesday’s first quarter negative GDP numbers — showing a contracting economy for the first time in almost three years, since COVID — are actually good news but also the fault of President Joe Biden.
The New York Times characterized President Trump’s first quarter results as “a stunning reversal from the strong growth at the end of last year.”
Speaking at a televised Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Trump, reading from notes on the GDP results, said, “you know, you probably saw some numbers today. And I have to start off by saying, that’s Biden. That’s not Trump, because we came in on January just the quarterly numbers, and we came in and I was very against everything that Biden was doing in terms of the economy destroying our country.”
Later, at that same meeting, Trump continued.
The stock market, Trump insisted “in this case is it says how bad a situation we inherited.”
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Leading economists say President Biden handed President Trump a robust economy — which is now in crisis, much like when President Barack Obama handed Trump a robust economy, which Trump reportedly handed over to Biden in “shambles.”
“I took place, this is a quarter that we looked at today. And I took place, we took, all of us together, we came in on January 20th,” said, Trump, appearing to stumble over his words. “So this is Biden, and you can even say the next quarter is sort of Biden, because it doesn’t just happen on a daily or even hourly basis.”
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg challenged Trump on those points.
“You frequently took credit for the stock market highs. You said it was a reflection of how well you were doing in the polls, and then after you were elected, you said the stock market highs were a reflection of how well the transition’s going and the American people’s confidence in your incoming administration,” Feinberg declared. “Now, the stock market’s not doing so well, and you’re saying that’s the Biden stock market, yet you are the president. Can you explain that?”
“No,” Trump replied. “I’m not taking credit or discredit for the stock market.”
The negative GDP numbers are for the full months of January, February, and March, so about 20 days short of the full three months took place on President Trump’s watch.
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But even Trump claimed credit for strong stock market numbers before he was sworn in to office — nearly one full year before he was sworn in to office, as political scientist Ian Bremmer noted:
Trump earlier on Wednesday had posted to his Truth Social account, “This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!”
As the Times noted, Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, and a convicted felon who served in the first Trump administration, claimed that the G.D.P. figures “really should be very positive news for America.”
The Times remarked, “Few economists agree.”
It is not just President Trump and his trade architect Peter Navarro, attempting to “spin” the negative numbers.
“Well, look,” Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told C-SPAN on Wednesday, “if you break it down, there is an outsized influence of January in that [GDP] report. Remember, this president wasn’t elected until January 20th. The GDP is a backward looking indicator, but all the other indicators that what we do have from that report and others show that there is a really positive trend for this president’s new golden age that he is unleashing.”
At President Trump’s Cabinet meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised the president’s “momentous” first 100 days and asserted that “American families are finding their financial footing again”—a claim at odds with recent consumer confidence reports, which have fallen to their lowest levels since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bessent also stated that “energy costs are down, mortgage rates have plummeted, and food costs are moving lower.” However, each of those claims is subject to challenge, with data and examples that suggest the opposite in many cases.
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed “New Data Reveals Strong Economic Momentum.”
“It’s no surprise the leftovers of Biden’s economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering. Robust core GDP, the highest gross domestic investment in four years, job growth, and trillions of dollars in new investments secured by President Trump are fueling an economic boom and setting the stage for unprecedented growth as President Trump ushers in the new Golden Age.”
Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), observed, “The White House statement on the GDP report simultaneously takes the positions that the economy contracting in the first quarter is both a good thing and Biden’s fault.”
Meanwhile, critics are blasting Trump and his administration.
“If you’re keeping track, Candidate Trump claimed credit for a booming stock market a year before he would ultimately take office, but here President Trump blames his predecessor after 100 days of his stewardship of the economy,” wrote NBC News senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake.
And in an all-caps post, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the Democrats’ Chief Deputy Whip, appeared to mock Trump: “Last year when the stock market was booming that was because of me but now that I am president the problems are Bidens fault please chill this is going great I’m making deals be patient shortages are fine aaaaahhhhhh.”
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