MSNBC’s Morning Joe: Trump Inherits a Strong America

At his press conference Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump again alluded to his oft-repeated contention that he is inheriting an economy that is in a mess. Almost nothing could be further from the truth. Trump will arrive at a time when the economy has been performing exceptionally well and other challenges — from the border to energy — also have been receding.


Start with jobs. The Great American Job machine grinds on, having added an average of 241,000 jobs per month (excluding the Covid period) under President Joe Biden. That’s above the monthly average of 180,000 during the tenure of Trump (with a similar adjustment for Covid.) At 4.2%, the current unemployment rate is similar to what it was when Trump left office and at roughly the level that economists consider full employment. In addition, there is still more than one open job for every American who is currently looking for one.

Manufacturing, which has been a difficult job category for the United States for many years, has also been doing at least as it did under Trump, with employment climbing back to levels not seen since the financial crisis in 2008. All told, Biden has added 693,000 factory jobs while Trump added just 425,000 before Covid hit.

Inflation has, of course, been a difficult problem since the pandemic. But it has also subsided faster than most economists expected and is now only modestly above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% and also only modestly above where it was during the Trump administration. Perhaps even more surprising, the rate of grocery inflation — particularly troubling for everyday Americans ¬— has subsided to less than 1.6%.

That improvement has helped “real incomes” — cash wages adjusted for inflation — to begin climbing again. Indeed, since Covid-era distortions ebbed, median real weekly earnings have climbed at a 1.5% annual rate, faster than it did under Trump prior to Covid.

In two other key areas, Trump is also inheriting a positive set up (again, contrary to what he repeatedly says.) Yes, border “encounters” surged under Biden. But now encounters between ports of entry have dropped to levels at or below what they were when Trump left office. If you consider those who entered the U.S. in this manner, crossings totaled 47,000 in November, compared to 71,000 in December 2020.

As for energy, the U.S. has been notching record levels of production since prior to Trump taking office (excluding the Covid period). We became a net energy exporter in 2019 for the first time since the 1950s and that excess production has continued to grow. All of that has occurred even as we continue to reduce our reliance on coal. Both crude oil and natural gas production are at all time highs.

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“[a] surprisingly modest account…Rattner has a journalistic talent for the telling detail, resulting in a memorable tale of life in the middle of the economic meltdown...Rattner deftly draws portraits of the inhabitants of "the Oval" and the West Wing...Rattner has proved himself a gifted chronicler.”
-Time Magazine

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