Trump reportedly believes bad economic data is part of a conspiracy to destroy his re-election bid


What global economic slowdown, stock market drops, and inverted yield curve?
When President Trump's economic advisers come to chat, they give him a rosy view of things, arguing that the domestic economy is stronger than forecasters are saying, people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post on Thursday. They have not come up with any plans for a possible recession because they don't think one is on the horizon, and they believe if they do come up with something, that will make people think there's a problem and trigger a crash, the Post reports.
Trump is keeping up appearances in public, tweeting on Thursday that the U.S. economy is "the Biggest, Strongest, and Most Powerful Economy in the World," but privately he's "rattled," a Republican close to the White House told the Post. Trump, this person added, has shared with friends that he doesn't trust the statistics he sees on the news, as he feels economists and forecasters are likely working together to present biased data to hurt his re-election chances. "He thinks that all the people that do this economic forecasting are a bunch of establishment weenies — elites who don't know anything about the real economy and they're against Trump," the GOP source said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow says there's nothing to see here, telling the Post that "nobody likes to see market volatility. I get that. You get bears coming out of the woodwork. I get that. But we've been through that before." Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary and National Economic Council director during the Obama administration, is on a completely different wavelength, telling the Post the government always has to be prepared for a recession.
"When the economy turns down, one of the most important resources we have is policymakers' credibility," he said. "Ludicrous forecasts and economically illiterate statements have dissipated the credibility of the president's economic team."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Israel faces international anger as Gazans starve
Feature World leaders pressure Israel to let in aid as famine spreads across Gaza
-
Redistricting: How the GOP could win in 2026
Feature Trump pushes early redistricting in Texas to help Republicans keep control of the House in next year's elections
-
Tariffs: Is Trump winning his trade war?
Feature Trump secures a new trade deal as Europe agrees to 15% tariffs
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement