Brand New Numbers Show US Economy Growing at Fastest Rate in Years
The U.S. economy is as hot as the summer temperatures.
According to new numbers from the Commerce Department, the economy grew by 4.2 percent in the second quarter – higher than initially reported and the fastest it’s grown in years.
In July, the Commerce Department estimated the second quarter’s growth at 4.1 percent.
According to the Washington Examiner, economists had expected that number to stay unchanged, but Wednesday’s report actually improved on it. (The Examiner aptly headlined its report: “US economy’s growth rate boosted to 4.2 percent, a win for Trump”.)
According to The Associated Press, the strong second quarter showing – even if the economy slows with the fall – would mark the best year since before the financial crisis of 2008.
“Economists expect growth to slow to a still solid 3 percent annual rate the rest of the year, resulting in full-year growth of 3 percent for 2018, which would be the best performance since 2005, two years before the Great Recession began,” the AP reported.
On Twitter, Republican politicians, aspiring politicians, and supporters of President Donald Trump celebrated the news.
“Boom!” the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks tweeted.
Boom! 4.2 percent growth rate! US economy logs best performance in nearly 4 years thanks to #TCJA #TaxCuts #TaxReform #ampFW https://t.co/GYc5ZWmp2B
— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) August 29, 2018
Georgia Rep. Karen Handel, whose special election win for the U.S. House over Democrat Jon Ossoff last June was a boost for President Donald Trump – and a deflating defeat for Democrats — had no problem identifying what was behind the economic boom.
The tax cuts that passed last year without a single Democratic vote, and were signed by Trump in December, deserve the credit, Handel wrote in a series of Twitter postings.
https://twitter.com/RepKHandel/status/1034821141322444800
https://twitter.com/RepKHandel/status/1034821142375264258
Matt Rosendale, the Republican trying to unseat Democrat Sen. Jon Tester in Montana, also chimed in.
Thank you @realDonaldTrump!!
Trump Tax Cuts + Cutting Red Tape = Best performance in 4 years!https://t.co/anFCYFWMLo#AmericaFirst #MontanaFirst #MAGA #mtsen #mtpol
— Matt Rosendale (@MattForMontana) August 29, 2018
The midterm elections are going to be fought on a number of battlefields – Democrats’ still-simmering rage at Trump’s victory in 2016, the Robert Mueller investigation, the legal problems of former Trump associates like Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen.
But on the economic front, anyway, the Trump administration and the Republican Party look to be on solid ground.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
