Trump says he’s ‘proud’ of US economy – Conservative Investing News

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President Trump praised the country’s economy under his leadership during an interview released on Sunday.

“I’d say we’re there now,” Trump told NBC News’s Tom Llamas. “I’m very proud of it.”

The president went on to say that the gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 5.6 percent under his watch.

GDP growth hit 4.4 percent in the third quarter of last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

During the interview, Trump repeatedly blamed former President Biden, saying his predecessor handed him a “mess” of an economy and record-high inflation.

“I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. It was through the roof,” he said.

While inflation reached 9.1 percent in June 2022, the highest mark in over four decades, it cooled to 3 percent in January 2025, the month the president returned to office.

In December, annual inflation was 2.7 percent, with food and energy prices up 3.1 and 2.3 percent year-over-year, respectively. Food and energy prices were respectively up 2.5 and 1 percent year-over-year in January 2025.

The unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in December after hitting 4 percent last January. Unemployment has been below 5 percent since September 2021, after spiking during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite Trump’s rhetoric, a growing number of Americans are expressing concern with his handling of the economy.

A survey from NPR/PBS News/Marist released last week found that 59 percent of respondents disapprove of the president’s performance on the economy, an increase of 2 percent from the same poll conducted the month prior.

To combat that sentiment ahead of the midterms, the president has traveled to Pennsylvania, Michigan and Iowa in the last two months to tout his work on the economy. He told Llamas that in Iowa, gas prices are down to $1.85 a gallon — despite AAA saying that as of Monday, the average per gallon price of regular gas in the state is over $2.56 and there are no counties where the average price is below $2.

Trump also predicted that 2026 will be “even better” than his first year back in office, touting investments in the country.

“There are factories and plants and thousands of businesses being built all over the country,” he said. “I just spoke to President Xi [Jinping] of China. Nobody has ever seen anything like what’s happening right now in America.”

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