tupungato/iStock(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and his top advisers on Monday continued to dismiss talk that the the U.S. economy is showing signs it could be headed for a recession amid his trade war with China.
After telling reporters Sunday “We have the strongest economy, by far, in the world,” the president on Monday reinforced his position, sending a series of tweets boasting that the economy is “very strong,” again blaming the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jay Powell, and accusing Democrats of trying to “will” the economy to “be bad” in order to hurt his chances in the 2020 presidential election.
Our Economy is very strong, despite the horrendous lack of vision by Jay Powell and the Fed, but the Democrats are trying to “will” the Economy to be bad for purposes of the 2020 Election. Very Selfish! Our dollar is so strong that it is sadly hurting other parts of the world…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2019
But with the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond falling below the two-year yield, some economists say that’s an indicator the U.S. is heading toward a recession.
“I don’t see a recession,” Trump said as he left a 10-day vacation at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Sunday, downplaying the potential an economic drag could have on his prospects for reelection. “I’m prepared for everything. I don’t think we’re having a recession. We’re doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut, and they’re loaded up with money. They’re buying. I saw the Walmart numbers; they were through the roof, just two days ago. That’s better than any poll. That’s better than any economist.”
A recent survey found that about one-third of economists think the U.S. economy will be in a recession in 2021 – more than eight percent higher than a poll of economists last February.
Monday morning, White House Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway dismissed economists’ forecasts of a U.S. recession in 2021.
“It’s nice to see the media finally cover the Trump economy,” Conway said, mocking a reporter during a gaggle on the White House driveway. “You seem to cover it only when you can use the Sesame Street word of the day, ‘Recession.’”
“You’re using a tweet here or a report there, or an economist’s words here and there. The fact is, the fundamentals of our economy are very strong. And you know it,” Conway asserted. “We have more people working in this country right now than ever before in the nation’s history. We have more people coming off the sidelines going back to work.”
“The fact is, the fundamentals of our economy are very strong,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway says, amid economic signs that some say point toward a possible recession. https://t.co/NUACkQeVTF pic.twitter.com/6EOczwngAk
— ABC News (@ABC) August 19, 2019
Trump argued that the poll showed “most” believe there won’t be a recession.
“Most of them are saying we’re not going to have a recession. But the rest of the world is not doing well like we’re doing,” Trump said Sunday. “We are doing better than any country, or even area, anywhere in the world. We’re doing great. And our consumer is really, really strong, and it looks like they’re going to be for a long time.”
Conway said that the economy “is the president’s strongest suit” and claimed that “a majority of Americans approve” of the president’s handling the economy “in most legitimate polls.”
“The fundamentals remain strong,” she said. “It’s good to hear people covering the economy again after such a lengthy hiatus, but you don’t have a magic wand to say, ‘And now we’re in a recession.’”
On Sunday, the president maintained that “China is eating the tariffs” because of “monetary manipulation” but declined to comment when asked whether he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent days.
“They want to make a deal,” Trump contended, adding that Xi “obviously” has the trade war in mind. “We’ll see what happens. But they definitely want to make a deal.”
“It’s something he could do fairly easily. It could be, unfortunately, very ruthless. So I do think it plays on his mind,” Trump added. “He’s thinking about what I’ve had to say. It would have an impact on trade. There’s no question about it.”
Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser, predicted that the U.S. economy would be strong through 2020.
“One of the things the president does beautifully is engage with the business community, labor leaders and everybody in between,” Navarro told ABC’s Martha Raddatz during an interview on “This Week” on Sunday.
During his summer break from the White House, Trump met at Bedminster with Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the impact of tariffs.
“Samsung is not paying tariffs because they’re based in South Korea. And it’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if they’re competing with a very good company that’s not,” Trump said Cook explained. “I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I’m thinking about it.”
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.