The president calls for “patience” as businesses react negatively to Trump’s aggressive efforts to overturn global trade.
US President Donald Trump has denounced former President Joe Biden for the decline of key economic indicators in his first months as president amid the widespread turmoil caused by Trump’s tariff policies.
The US economy signed 0.3% in the first quarter of the year. This is the first decline in three years. For the last three months of 2024, the economy rose 2.4%.
“This is Biden’s stock market, not Trump’s stock market,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on his website. “The tariffs are kicking quickly, and businesses are beginning to move to America in record numbers. Our country is booming, but we need to get rid of Biden’s “Overhan.” This takes a while and has nothing to do with the tariffs, but he left us with a bad number, but when the boom starts, it’s no other patient!!!”
Since taking office, Trump’s efforts to overturn the global trading system through a series of aggressive import tariffs have caused chaos in financial markets amid fears of escalation of the trade war and uncertainty surrounding tariff policies.
Imports rose in the first quarter as US companies are looking to move ahead of the higher costs that could come with future tariffs. However, inflation continues to ease. In March, consumer prices were 2.3% higher than last year, compared to 2.5% in February.
In a press release from the White House, spokesperson Caroline Leavitt said Wednesday’s economic report showed “strong economic momentum,” while reflecting Trump’s claim that Biden is blamed on any turbulence.
“It’s not surprising that the leftovers from Biden’s economic disaster were economic growth resistance, but the underlying numbers tell the true story of the strong momentum that President Trump is delivering,” Leavitt said.
Many economic analysts have denounced Trump’s chaotic approach to tariffs on US flagging indicators. Since taking office, the S&P 500 has shrunk by about 7.3%.
“If the blow-up to trade is the result of companies that pre-purchased input imported to beat tariffs, the attenuation of trade balances will be reversed in the second quarter,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Furecour Economics, told news agency Reuters. “It creates GDP growth. But corrosive uncertainty and higher taxes, tariffs are taxes on imports, bringing GDP growth back to red by the end of this year.”
In recent weeks, the White House has suggested that tariffs could be reduced with major US trading partners such as China, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said last week that current rates were not “sustainable.”