Donald Trump held a meeting with over two dozen business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, responding to recent economic data that showed the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of the year. The latest report from the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that our gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3%. In a furious response, Trump directly spoke to the key interests in Trump World.
Less than an hour after the release of the GDP report, Trump took to Truth Social to share his thoughts. In his post, he placed the blame for the current economic condition squarely on President Joe Biden’s shoulders, stating that the country would experience economic growth once what he termed the “Biden ‘Overhang’” was eliminated.
Still, Trump played up his conviction that the economy was poised to boom, admitting that this would be an extended process. He stated, “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!!!”
The GDP report isn’t the only significant release coming up. A different ADP analysis finds that, adjusted for size, private payrolls increased by just 62,000 in April—far below the 120,000 expected consensus on the Dow Jones. This was an additional sign that the labor market and economic recovery were facing significant headwinds.
In his roundtable with business leaders, Trump doubled down on his administration’s tariffs and claimed they would produce results any day now. He did so by asserting that because of these tariffs companies were starting to come back to the United States in record numbers. He reiterated this point in his social media post: “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.’”
To say that the Trump administration has faced a firestorm of criticism for its economic policies would be quite the understatement. He stressed that he wasn’t sworn in until January 20, 2021. He remarked, “This is Joe Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th,” shifting responsibility for the current economic climate away from his tenure.