ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Friday [7-27-18] seized on a strong GDP growth rate for the second quarter of the year to tout the economic gains made during his presidency and argued the US is experiencing an economic boom. The US economy grew at a 4.1% annual rate in the second quarter of the year, a figure Trump touted as ‘amazing’ and sustainable — even as economists caution economic growth for the second half of the year will likely be slower…The President, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and his top economic advisers, also claimed the economy is on track to hit an annual GDP growth rate of more than 3%…Economists welcomed the GDP growth figures on Friday as the latest sign of a strong US economy. But Trump’s rosy take on the long-term health of the US economy also stood in contrast to assessments that the 4.1% growth last quarter was boosted by a spike in exports driven by trade war fears. Exports surged last quarter amid fears of rising trade tensions and retaliatory tariffs being imposed by top US trading partners. Soybean exports — a target of retaliatory tariffs from China and the European Union — shot up, likely in an effort to skirt the incoming tariffs. The sudden rise could lead to a slump in exports in the next economic quarter.”
-Jeremy Diamond, “Trump touts economy: ‘These numbers are very, very sustainable’,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 27, 2018 10:46 am