(DailyChive.com) – Former President Barack Obama took a jab at Donald Trump’s economic record on Thursday, claiming that the positive economy Trump often boasted about was actually a product of his own policies. Obama’s remarks came during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, where he rallied support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The reason some folks think, ‘Hey, the economy was pretty good when [Trump] came in,’ is because it was good,” Obama told a crowd of Harris supporters. “But it was good because it was my economy. I handed him 75 straight months of job growth. That wasn’t something he did.”
Obama didn’t stop there. He also took a swipe at former President George W. Bush, saying, “I spent eight years cleaning up the mess the Republicans left behind.” Predictably, conservatives were quick to fire back, accusing Obama of rewriting history.
Ben Shapiro, Editor Emeritus at The Daily Wire, shot back on social media, writing, “So by that logic, Biden’s terrible economy must still be Trump’s fault, right?”
Mollie Hemingway, Editor-in-Chief of The Federalist, also chimed in: “Obama’s economy was famously sluggish,” she tweeted, “which is exactly why Trump won in the first place.” Others pointed to data to push back on Obama’s claim. Mark Hemingway of RealClearInvestigations noted that the economy was not as strong as Obama made it sound. “GDP growth in Obama’s last year was just 1.6%. Trump didn’t inherit a booming economy—this is pure fantasy.”
Economic figures do show a mixed picture. GDP growth fell from 3.7% in early 2015 to just 0.7% by the end of that year. Although it improved slightly in 2016, Trump took office with the economy growing at 2%. By 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the economy surged with a growth rate of 4.8%.
As the 2024 election heats up, Trump has been hammering the Biden administration’s handling of the economy. Inflation, which hit 9.1% at one point, remains a top concern for voters. At a recent Michigan town hall, Trump promised to slash energy costs by 50% within a year, saying, “Energy affects everything—whether you make donuts or cars, it’s a huge factor.”
Meanwhile, Harris has also made economic issues a focus, blaming corporate greed for rising prices. She recently proposed a federal ban on price-gouging, a move some critics compared to Soviet-style price controls.
With the economy on everyone’s mind, it’s clear both parties are eager to claim victory—and shift the blame.
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