President Trump wants us to stop focusing on anything negative to do with his administration and instead heap praise on him for the success of the US economy since he took office.
YouTube clip by CNN on 29 Jan 2018
Trump [in clip from campaign speech]: “When you hear 4.9 and 5% unemployment the number is probably 28 and 29, as high as 35…”
Cuomo [in CNN studio]: “You know what? I agree with the President!”
“You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” ― Daniel Patrick Moynihan
For me, the health of an economy is far from the only yardstick by which we should be judging our government. But even if we accept that it is, CNN’s Chris Cuomo has done a great job putting the figures Trump has been crowing about into context.
At best, the economic reports under Trump are basically continuing the success that Obama had after inheriting a disastrous crash of the market. But as Cuomo points out, in some areas the figures aren’t even that great in themselves.
But the best evidence he has comes from ‘candidate Trump’ who’s words are often found to be in direct opposition to those of ‘President Trump’.
And don’t just take CNN’s word for it…back in August the New York Times pointed out that : ‘Trump Praises the Stock Market at 22,000 That He Said Was a Bubble at 18,000‘
Let’s be clear…all politicians play fast and loose with economic figures to big themselves up, it’s just that in Trump’s case he has taken it to a whole new level by selectively ignoring his own words from the not-to-distant past. JLP
#IANWAE
First Person Plural 