hat’s how the diminutive former Clinton labor secretary put it recently on his Substack page, and it’s the message Democrats desperately want every American to hear. We have an affordability crisis! Real wages are falling!! Trump is making it worse!!! The recent elections show the depth of despair!!!!
It’s true that Americans aren’t particularly happy at the moment. The TIPP Economic Optimism Index (TIPP is I&I’s polling partner) is lower today than it was in June 2020, during peak COVID mania. And just 34% give Trump an “A” or “B” grade on his handling of the economy in the latest I&I/TIPP poll, while 49% give him a “D” or an “F.”
But it’s also true that the economy is doing better – in some ways much better – than Democrats (and their handmaidens in the mainstream press) will ever admit.
Consider this: According to the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast, the economy grew by 4.2% in the third quarter, which ended in October. (The Commerce Department won’t release its official GDP estimate until later this month.)
If that growth rate holds, it will be on top of the 3.8% gain in the second quarter. Which means that from April through October (the first full six months of economic performance in Trump’s second term), the economy will have grown at a faster pace than it did in the previous three years under Joe Biden.
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