AP FACT CHECK: Trump exaggerates economic record
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump exaggerated the performance of the economy under his watch at his North Carolina rally on Wednesday.
A look at some of his claims:
TRUMP: “We have the strongest economy in history.”
THE FACTS: The economy is not the strongest in the country’s history. It expanded at an annual rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of this year. That growth was the highest in just four years for the first quarter.
In the late 1990s, growth topped 4% for four straight years, a level it has not yet reached on an annual basis under Trump. Growth even reached 7.2% in 1984.
In fact, there are some signs that growth is slowing, partly because of Trump’s trade fights with China and Europe. Factory activity has decelerated for three straight months as global growth has slowed and companies are reining in their spending on large equipment.
Most economists forecast the economy will expand at just a 2% annual rate in the April-June period.
Trump is pushing the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, to cut short-term interest rates to shore up the economy. That isn’t something a president would do during the strongest economy in history.
Economists mostly expect the Fed will cut rates, either at its next meeting in July or in September. Lower rates make it easier for people to borrow and buy new homes and cars.
The economy is now in its 121st month of growth, making it the longest expansion in history. Most of that took place under President Barack Obama.
The economy grew 2.9% in 2018 — the same pace it reached in 2015 under Obama — and simply hasn’t hit historically high growth rates.
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TRUMP: “The lowest unemployment numbers ever.”
THE FACTS: Again, not so.
The 3.7% unemployment rate in the latest report is not the best in history. It’s near the lowest level in 50 years, when it was 3.5%. The U.S. also had lower rates than now in the early 1950s. And during three years of World War II, the annual rate was under 2%.
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EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
