A former top White House adviser has joined the growing chorus of criticism surrounding the economic policies of President Donald Trump, claiming they will not just adversely impact the U.S. but also the wider world.
Officials have drawn up options for Trump, including lowering corporation tax and imposing a currency transaction to weaken the dollar to bolster the economy, with one Republican source telling the paper: “Everyone is nervous—everyone. It’s not a panic, but they are nervous.”
The paper reported that U.S. growth is being hurt by Trump’s trade war with China and other mixed messages.
The former head of the National Economic Council (NEC), Gene Sperling, told the Post that Trump’s unpredictability is causing economic uncertainty beyond American shores.
“The irony here is that Trump’s erratic, chaotic approach to the economy is probably the most significant economic risk factor in the world right now.
“Their response is just to show even more erratic behavior. It’s economic narcissism. It’s economic policy by whim, pride, ego and tantrum.”
The White House has continues to tout the country’s high employment levels and wage growth as vindication of Trump’s policies.
“The fundamentals of the economy are strong because of this president’s pro-growth policies,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said, repeating the message that the economy is strong. This is at odds with the Democrats, who say it is heading toward a recession.
Tony Fratto, who served in senior roles during the George W. Bush administration at the White House and the Treasury Department, told the Post: “This administration has not done itself a whole lot of favors in talking about the economy.
“They have done a lot of communicating that is verifiably false on the economy.”
Meanwhile, Trump ally Rep. Mark Meadows (N.C.) said the news cycle, not the state of the economy, was to blame.
“It’s not economic data that’s driving the concern as much as headlines and the stock market having a big drop,”
“It becomes a headline, then it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy that is not based on any underlying economic fundamentals,” he told the Post.