Trump keeps heralding an economic boom, but even a solid jobs report is causing problems for him

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has spent 20 months promising that America was on the cusp of an economic boom. But Friday’s surprisingly positive jobs report ultimately provoked frustration from Trump. The August job numbers might have been a welcome break from after months of sluggish hiring and concerns about inflation that have been weighing on Trump and his party two months from Election Day.

But speaking from the Oval Office, Trump instead launched into a grievance session about inflation and interest rates. His anger was aimed at the financial markets, the Federal Reserve and U.S. He objected to the commonly accepted notion in economics that the surprise gain of 162,000 jobs in August could contribute to inflationary pressures.

Stupidity causes inflation,” Trump vented in the Oval Office, as he declared it “crazy” that the stock markets fell Friday on inflation concerns. The combination over his second term of a drop-off in hiring and higher prices has dogged Trump and his pledge to instantly unleash historic levels of growth. “When I win the election, we will immediately begin a brand new Trump economic boom,” Trump said at an August 2024 rally in North Carolina.

But so far, the economy has grown at roughly 2% annually, slower than the gains during the Biden administration. Trump blamed his inability to deliver stronger growth on higher interest rates for U.S. government debt, saying on social media that America could retaliate by stopping trade with foreign countries.

Rates have been climbing in response to persistently high inflation fueled by Trump’s tariffs and oil shortages from the Iran war. The national debt has now crossed the daunting threshold of $40 trillion and rates on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note on Friday rose to 4.79%.

Trump has lost some of his credibility on the economy As the promised growth has yet to materialize, the president has lost some of the public’s trust in his ability to steer the world’s largest economy. His own policies have enabled, in part, the inflation and high interest rates that he wishes to blame on others. “The administration’s credibility on growth, inflation, rates, debt and deficit dynamics have taken a hit given the outsized predictions that are not aligned with economic reality,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consultancy RSM US.