President Donald Trump is already fulfilling his pledge to ‘make America great again’ using many of the same economic policies he successfully employed during his first term.
The U.S. economy expanded at a significantly faster pace than expected in the second quarter, driven by a rebound in the trade balance and a resurgence in consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Gross domestic product (GDP)—the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the U.S. economy—rose 3% from April to June, after adjusting for inflation and seasonal factors. That figure exceeded the Dow Jones estimate of 2.3% and marked a sharp turnaround from the 0.5% decline in the first quarter, which had been attributed to a steep drop in imports and sluggish consumer spending amid tariff uncertainty.
Financial markets showed little reaction to the report, with stock index futures trading mixed and Treasury yields ticking higher, CNBC reported on Wednesday. “The word of the summer for the economy is ‘resilient,’” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told the outlet. “The consumer is hanging in there, but still on edge until the trade deals are done.”
The period covered in Wednesday’s report includes President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, which followed a first-quarter surge in imports as companies rushed to get ahead of the policy shift.
Over the past three months, Trump has engaged in a series of high-stakes negotiations and aggressive rhetoric with U.S. trading partners—moves that have unsettled markets but coincided with steady economic growth. While the talks have led to tariffs rising significantly compared to the start of the year, the final measures have been less severe than originally proposed, the outlet reported.
“The anti Trump story has been that we’re going to have a recession or a depression because of the tariffs, which are going to jack up prices and cause consumers to run for the exits” Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council director, said on CNBC. “In fact, every single thing about this GDP release has shown strength.”
