I understand that deciding to focus on any one of the literally thousands of lies Trump has told may seem like a needle in a hay stack, but the economy is a BIG one in elections. And the economy is pretty good right now.
- Just not as good as Trump claims.
- And not that much better than Obama’s economy.
- And not even the greatest since 1980, much less EVER.
- And, even these modest accomplishments have been done (much like with his many bankrupt companies) with a MOUNTAIN of debt artificially inflating short-term economic performance, much to his personal benefit.
So, let’s look at a few pieces of the economy he brags about the most:
STOCKS:
Well, as much as he touts it, and as much as the total S&P 500 level is at record highs, on a percentage basis (the only measure that matters), Trump is, as usual, MUCH less good than he claims. Specifically, his 1st two years percentage increase is +18% vs Obama’s +59%, so certainly not the best EVER… And, extrapolating his first two years across eight years, his less than 100% projection would be the 4th best our of 7 Presidents since Reagan.
GDP GROWTH:
I won’t add much beyond this chart of quarterly GDP since Reagan. Even a “mentally deranged dotard” can see that Trump’s economic performance is BELOW AVERAGE compared to the last 40 years of economic growth. And his best quarter would only have been Obama’s 5th best quarter.
So, yea, he’s lying again…
JOBS:
The unemployment rate is at an all-time low, so in one way, that would be the “best ever” unemployment rate. But, did that happen because of Trump, or is it simply a slightly slower continuation of a record 100 STRAIGHT MONTHS of lower unemployment, of which, Trump presided over 24 of them? If you don’t know the answer, look at the picture below. I won’t even call Trump’s claims on jobs a lie. Just a gross misrepresentation and a massive taking of much more credit than he is due (in other words, pretty much every statement he ever makes about anything).
Given how relatively good the economy actually is, and how much he brags about how he made it so and it’s the greatest ever, and how much Fox, WSJ, and all the talk radio dolts repeat the claims, most people give Trump good grades on the economy, something serious needs to be done that isn’t being done well enough by the Democrats.
If the Democrats don’t start a concerted, relentless effort to blunt his lies and resulting advantage here, it will hurt them in 2020, because the economy is almost always the #1 issue for voters.
(470 words)
Patrick On Politics 