Even Fox News Shoots Down Donald Trump's Fake Economy Boast
President Donald Trump boasted Monday in a tweet that it’s the first time in more than a century that America’s gross domestic product growth is higher than the unemployment rate.
Except that it’s not.
In fact, the GDP has been higher than the unemployment rate more than 20 percent of the time since 1948, according to actual facts.
Even Fox News wasn’t buying Trump’s tout this time.
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, also shot down the president’s claim, later quipping about yet another Trump tweet that he’s not the head of the “Council of Twitter Advisers.”
But Trump still hadn’t changed his false tweet as of Monday night.
The GDP Rate (4.2%) is higher than the Unemployment Rate (3.9%) for the first time in over 100 years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2018
Fox News research contradicted Trump in a tweet about two hours after his claim, noting that there have been 63 quarters with a GDP growth rate higher than the average quarterly unemployment rate (several during the Clinton administration).
In 2006, unemployment was about 4.7 percent and quarterly GDP growth was significantly higher than it is now, at 5.4 percent, according to data.
Since 1948, there have been 63 quarters with a GDP growth rate higher than avg quarterly unemployment rate
Recent Quarters with GDP Growth higher than Unemployment Rate:
•Q2 2018
•Q1 2006
•Q3 2003
•Q2 2000
•Q4 1999
•Q3 1999
•Q4 1998
•Q3 1998
•Q3 1997
•Q2 1997
•Q2 1996 https://t.co/xc873PMf6K— Fox News Research (@FoxNewsResearch) September 10, 2018
Twitter had fun with Trump’s fake news — and the takedown by Fox.
— Janice Marie (@JaniceMarie717) September 10, 2018
OH SHIT FOX JUST TROLLED TRUMP! pic.twitter.com/Us4QRwcdeh
— david nussbaum (@theNuzzy) September 10, 2018
— Queen Gwynne (@Queen_Gwynne) September 10, 2018
— OverRunByDogs (@overrunbydogs) September 10, 2018
Hassett told skeptical reporters that the GDP has been higher than unemployment for 10 years and speculated that someone may have given Trump that information with an extra zero accidentally added to the 10.
Trump also tweeted that President Barack Obama claimed he’d need a magic wand to boost the economy to 4.2 percent. But Obama was actually talking about boosting manufacturing jobs, not economic growth.
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Pres. Obama on Donald Trump: "The answer is he doesn't have an answer." #POTUSonNewsHour https://t.co/0XtuCDJvAx
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 2, 2016
Asked to clarify Trump’s tweet about that, Hassett smiled and said: “I’don’t know. I’m sorry, and again, I’m not the chairman of the Council of Twitter Advisers.”
Hassett also said he’s “grateful” when the press points out mistakes.
Hassett talked to reporters at a press briefing about Trump’s positive effect on the economy.
Trump inherited a healthy economy, and most indicators remain on the same uphill incline that began under Obama — who inherited an economy in crisis from a Republican administration.
The U.S. is in its 10th year of economic growth, with 95 straight months of job creation. Trump has been in office less than 20 months.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett corrected Trump’s false claim that U.S. GDP was higher than unemployment in 100 years:
“At some point, somebody probably conveyed it to him adding a zero to that and they shouldn’t have done that” #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/DM364Xyrzj— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) September 10, 2018
Trump added the extra zero.
— Sams V (@brightlights4me) September 10, 2018
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.