Before entering the courtroom on Thursday morning, former President Donald Trump reacted to news that GDP growth slowed to 1.6%, well below economists’ expectations.
“Some very big things have happened but the biggest seems to be that the GDP was just announced — it’s all the way down to 1.6% and it’s heading south. It’s going to get worse,” Trump told reporters.
“FGas prices in California were just announced at $7.60 — gasoline is going way up. Energy costs are going way up. And the stock market is, in a sense, crashing. This is Bidenomics … it’s destroying our country.”
Watch Trump’s comments below:
When President Trump left office, the national average for regular gas was $2.39/gal. Today, it's 52% higher.
Under President Trump, the national average NEVER hit $3/gal. Under Biden, it hasn't been below $3/gal for 1,080 straight days. https://t.co/7sOVjxpjBW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 25, 2024
From CNBC:
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 2.4% following a 3.4% gain in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4.9% in the previous period.
Consumer spending increased 2.5% in the period, down from a 3.3% gain in the fourth quarter and below the 3% Wall Street estimate. Fixed investment and government spending at the state and local level helped keep GDP positive on the quarter, while a decline in private inventory investment and an increase in imports subtracted. Net exports subtracted 0.86 percentage points from the growth rate while consumer spending contributed 1.68 percentage points.
There was some bad news on the inflation front as well.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, a key inflation variable for the Federal Reserve, rose at a 3.4% annualized pace for the quarter, its biggest gain in a year and up from 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Excluding food and energy, core PCE prices rose at a 3.7% rate, both well above the Fed’s 2% target. Central bank officials tend to focus on core inflation as a stronger indicator of long-term trends.
STAGFLATION: The U.S. economy grew at just a 1.6% annualized pace between January and March — "a MUCH lower than anticipated number." pic.twitter.com/vTcayDDfT8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 25, 2024
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