Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. private economy is accelerating sharply under President Donald Trump, pointing to a strong expansion in real economic output that excludes government activity.
Private Economy ‘Booming Under Trump
On Tuesday, in a post on X, Bessent said, “the private economy is booming under” Trump, while noting that GDP growth excluding government activity “is up 4.7% at an annualized rate over the last two quarters.”
Bessent described this as being the “the exact opposite of what happened under Biden,” where growth dynamics were primarily led by expansion in government spending, which ultimately “contributed to historic inflation and depressed living standards.”
The Treasury secretary said the latest data reflect a meaningful shift in the structure of economic growth, with private-sector momentum now playing the dominant role. According to Bessent, the “current Trump-led surge” signals improving labor-market conditions in the months ahead.
Trade Flows Distorting GDP Figures
Earlier this week, Trump took a political victory lap after the country’s third-quarter GDP figures came in much better than expected at 4.3%.
Trump posted on Truth Social, saying, “60 of 61 Bloomberg economists got it wrong,” while crediting this performance to “good government and tariffs.”
Economists such as Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics, however, believe that this surge was primarily driven by temporary factors, such as “a rise in defense spending and a big contribution from net trade.”
Pearce also highlighted the stark contrasts between the affluent and low-income households in the economy, adding that “The K-shaped consumer is alive and well.”
According to Heather Long, the Chief Economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, trade distortions owing to Trump’s tariffs and trade wars may have added at least a percentage point to the GDP. “Artificially low imports and ‘high’ exports did make GDP look better,” she said.
Photo Courtesy: Maxim Elramsisy On Shutterstock.com
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