Amid growing fears of a possible recession, President Trump's team is continuing to throw the media under the bus.
When not busy escalating the U.S.-China trade war and attacking the chair of the Federal Reserve, Trump is now claiming that the media actually wants a recession, as proved, apparently, by their reporting on it. The assertion was repeated by Tomas Philipson, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to The New York Times; Philipson claimed in a Thursday interview that reporters actually seem "to want people to lose jobs" and "become not economically self-sufficient."
Philipson went on to complain that the "way the media reports on our economy weighs on consumer sentiment." Megan Greene, a Harvard Kennedy School senior fellow, similarly told the Times that consumers could "lose confidence and stop spending" should "headlines about trade wars and currency wars dominate the media and the airwaves."
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.
Still, the Times notes that many economists say Trump's "trade policies and the uncertainty they are stoking" would be the "likely culprit" of any potential recession, with the media simply reporting on that fact.
Nevertheless, Trump has repeatedly alleged that the press is trying to talk America into a recession to ensure he loses in 2020. But he could be projecting just a bit, as The Washington Post recently reported that Trump is trying to pull the opposite move in talking the U.S. out of a recession, with the president recently telling aides "that he thinks he can convince Americans that the economy is vibrant and unrattled through a public messaging campaign."
-
Denmark's 'pornographic' mermaid statue is in hot waterUnder the Radar Town will reportedly remove voluptuous Big Mermaid, despite statue being 'arguably a bit less naked' than Copenhagen monument the Little Mermaid
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting voteSpeed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
