Trump: "US Economy in a Phase of Great Expansion"

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The 'solo' boom of the U.S. economy was also confirmed in data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the OECD's statistics on member countries' GDP growth rates for the fourth quarter of 2019, released on the 20th (local time), the U.S. growth rate recorded 0.5% compared to the previous quarter. The U.S. maintained a 0.5% growth rate for three consecutive quarters after recording 0.8% growth in the first quarter of last year.

The Trump administration recently expressed strong confidence by describing the economic upturn as a "great expansion." The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) used this expression in Chapter 1 of the "Economic Report of the President" submitted to Congress on the 20th. This contrasts with the "great depression," the dark era of the U.S. economy, and the "great recession" during the financial crisis.

The 441-page report was filled with rosy forecasts that various deregulations promoted by President Trump would benefit economic growth and households.

Thomas Philipson, chairman of the CEA responsible for drafting the report, emphasized that in the third year of the Trump administration, the U.S. economy is outperforming the growth rate expected before the 2016 presidential election. He said, "The White House's mission is to prevent economic downturns during the president's term," and stressed the current economic growth "is not a continuation from the great depression," highlighting the current administration's economic achievements.

President Trump also claimed, "The U.S. economy is stronger than ever, but the administration's role is not over yet. If efforts to expand economic growth and jobs continue, there is no end to U.S. economic growth."

However, the congressional media outlet The Hill interpreted the report as "packaging the extraordinary growth of the U.S. economy since the 2008 financial crisis entirely as President Trump's achievement."

Meanwhile, President Trump's approval rating fell below disapproval for the first time since his inauguration. Gallup announced that Trump's approval rating for February (as of the 16th) was 49%, unchanged from the previous month. However, disapproval dropped by 2 percentage points to 48%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.