{"id":5336,"date":"2026-07-31T14:10:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=5336"},"modified":"2026-07-31T14:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:10:40","slug":"trump-aide-busted-on-fox-as-big-economic-bet-blows-up-in-his-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=5336","title":{"rendered":"Trump aide busted on Fox as big economic bet blows up in his face"},"content":{"rendered":"
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White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett scrambled Friday after being confronted by Fox Business\u2019 Maria Bartiromo about the \u201cway lower than expected\u201d economic growth that fell far short of his previous predictions.<\/p>\n

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In early May, Hassett told<\/u> Bartiromo that he \u201cpersonally would make a bet\u201d with his \u201cfriends\u201d that U.S. economic growth would be 4% for the \u201crest of the year.\u201d He doubled down<\/u> on that prediction in early July. <\/p>\n

And yet, on Thursday, the Commerce Department reported \u201cweaker than expected\u201d GDP growth \u2013 a broad measure of economic activity \u2013 of just 1.5%<\/u> for the second quarter of 2026, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, the GDP was slower than expected; last time we spoke, you told me you were expecting 4% growth in the second half of the year,\u201d Bartiromo said. \u201cWe got a growth number yesterday, but it was way lower than people expected \u2013 how would you assess the macro story today?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than admit his prediction was widely off, Hassett attempted to reframe his past remarks as referencing a narrower interpretation of economic growth.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s empty threats show he\u2019s out of ammo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWell I think that what we were looking at when you and I talked last was… uh… the really surging domestic demand, and so final sales within the U.S. were about 4% actually, almost exactly the number we talked about, 3.9%,\u201d Hassett said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why the topline number was 1.5% was that we imported so many capital goods because we’re building factories so fast that the number was different than we expected by a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Hassett\u2019s claim that the United States was \u201cbuilding factories so fast,\u201d federal data<\/u> paints a different picture. Factory construction spending was actually when compared with the same time last year, having declined every month this year. Manufacturing employment is also trending downward<\/u>, with the sector losing 38,000 jobs over the past 12 months while adding 18,000 in the past six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line though is that if you look at that \u2013 the huge surge in capital spending \u2013 it means that the economy is really running on all cylinders,\u201d Hassett claimed.<\/p>\n

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