President Donald Trump has spent 20 months promising that America was on the cusp of an economic boom. But Friday’s surprisingly positive jobs report ultimately provoked frustration from Trump.
The August job numbers might have been a welcome break from after months of sluggish hiring and concerns about inflation that have been weighing on Trump and his party two months from Election Day. But speaking from the Oval Office, Trump instead launched into a grievance session about inflation and interest rates. His anger was aimed at the financial markets, the Federal Reserve and U.S. trade partners. He objected to the commonly accepted notion in economics that the surprise gain of 162,000 jobs in August could contribute to inflationary pressures.
“Success does not cause inflation. Stupidity causes inflation,” Trump vented in the Oval Office, as he declared it “crazy” that the stock markets fell Friday on inflation concerns.
The combination over his second term of a drop-off in hiring and higher prices has dogged Trump and his pledge to instantly unleash historic levels of growth. “When I win the election, we will immediately begin a brand new Trump economic boom,” Trump said at an August 2024 rally in North Carolina. But so far, the economy has grown at roughly 2% annually, slower than the gains during the Biden administration.
