News broke this morning that real GDP grew at an annualized rate of 33.1% in the third quarter of 2020—beating expectations and setting an all-time record.
This jump in GDP is nearly double the previous record set 70 years ago.
Thanks to President Trump’s policies, the American economy is weathering the global pandemic better than any other major Western country, including those of Europe. As the Council of Economic Advisers wrote this morning:
While the pandemic hit every major economy around the world, the United States experienced the least severe economic contraction of any major Western economy in the first half of 2020, with the Euro Area economy’s contraction being 1.5 times as severe as the contraction of the U.S. economy.
Since April, America has gained over 11.4 million jobs, recovering more than half of those lost because of lockdowns. Retail sales are already above pre-pandemic levels, many construction and manufacturing jobs have returned, business activity is at a 20-month high, and new jobless claims fell to their lowest level this week since the beginning of the pandemic.
This “V-shaped” recovery is beating economist predictions and outpacing the slow recovery under former President Obama. After the 2008-09 recession, it took the Obama Administration 4 times as long to regain the same share of lost economic output.
Two big reasons explain President Trump’s success. The first is that his pro-growth, pro-worker agenda made our economic fundamentals stronger. Before Coronavirus swept the globe, American incomes hit a record high in 2019 while poverty rates hit a record low. Median incomes saw their biggest one-year jump ever.
Second, President Trump took targeted action to help American workers and families after the Coronavirus hit. His Administration negotiated the CARES Act, implemented the Paycheck Protection Program to save jobs, extended supplemental unemployment benefits, paused student loan payments, and halted evictions.
Today, the left wants to emulate Europe, issue endless lockdowns, and use the pandemic as an excuse to grow government control of the economy and society. President Trump wants to keep working with the private sector, protect the most vulnerable among us, and safely reopen our economy and schools.
Today’s GDP report makes it clear: The data supports President Trump’s strategy.
The Great American Comeback is well underway—a testament to both President Trump’s policies and the strength and resilience of America’s workers and families.
