With the presidential election little over five months away, US President Donald Trump is selling US voters a new pitch: Trust him to rebuild the economy, after the coronavirus chaos.
With a major recession and about 38 million people out of work, Trump appeared to have had lost his main 'trump card' for the November election: A booming economy. However, Trump is already promoting a future economic recovery.
"It's a transition to greatness. You're going to see some great numbers in the fourth quarter, and you're going to end up doing a great year next year," Trump was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. “We built the greatest economy in the world... I'll do it a second time," Trump has been saying frequently, reported Associated Press.
Associated Press reported, "Trump had already pledged to finally release a Republican health care plan after the polls closed—despite having served more than three years in office—along with a postelection tax cut and a 'Phase 2' trade deal with China."
But the bad news is expected to continue: Unemployment could still be in double-digit territory by Election Day, White House economist Kevin Hassett and Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said in television interviews on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, I think it's likely to be double-digit unemployment through the end of this year,” Rosengren told CBS' Face the Nation. A vaccine or "other medical innovations" would be required to restore confidence and reduce unemployment to figures seen in late February, Rosengren said.
However, Trump is counting on the perception that he is better suited at promoting economic growth, compared with his Democrat rival Joe Biden. “The president has a clear record of building the economy to unprecedented heights before it was artificially interrupted by the coronavirus, and they know he will build it a second time,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh was quoted as saying by Associated Press.