Trump rips Biden over GDP growth report: 'A number that nobody thought was possible'

"Gasoline is going way up, energy costs are going way up, and the stock market is, in a sense, crashing," Former President Donald Trump said.

By Natalia Mittelstadt

Published: April 25, 2024 4:28pm

Former President Donald Trump ripped President Joe Biden at a New York City courthouse on Thursday over the latest economic growth data.

Trump responded to the news on Thursday morning as he headed to court for the "hush money" trial brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"Gasoline is going way up, energy costs are going way up, and the stock market is, in a sense, crashing," Trump told reporters outside the courthouse. "The numbers are very bad. This is Bidenomics, it's catching up with him. It's lucky that it's catching up before he leaves office, as opposed to after he leaves office. But this is Bidenomics, it's destroying our country at the border, destroying our country with other countries, they no longer respect the United States."

The Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday announced that GDP growth increased at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, falling short of expectations. The data marked a slowing of economic growth after the fourth quarter of 2023 saw 3.4% growth.

"But the big news today I think is the 1.6%," he went on. "When you look at 1.6 GDP, that's a number that nobody thought was possible -- that's a real bad number, and it looks like the projections are it's heading in the wrong direction, and that's why the stock market's down so big today."

Industry experts had expected a 2.4% annualized rate, per CNBC. The DOW Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ indices, moreover, all closed down.