‘THEY WILL ONLY GET BETTER!’ Trump Takes a Victory Lap Over Stunning Economic Growth

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Donald Trump took a victory lap over and credited his tariff-heavy trade policy for the promising economic news announced on Tuesday.

According to the Department of Commerce, the economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.3% between July and September, a two-year quarterly high. It also easily outstripped the 3.2% growth rate forecasted by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, which provided additional context on the data:

The data show the economy growing at an average annual rate of 2.5% since Trump returned to office, even after a first-quarter contraction as companies ramped up imports to get ahead of new tariffs. The growth is on par with the 2.4% average pace recorded in 2024, during the Biden presidency.

A measure that tracks demand from businesses and consumers—but not more volatile government, inventory and international trade data—ticked up slightly in the third quarter. That suggests underlying demand from businesses and consumers remained solid.

The pace of business investment cooled to 2.8% from 7.3% in the prior quarter.

Consumer spending grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, picking up from 2.5% in the previous quarter.

Investment in both equipment and intellectual property, which includes artificial intelligence-related spending, rose at a 5.4% pace. Growth in both categories slowed from the prior quarter.

Trade boosted the third-quarter headline GDP number by 1.59 percentage points, as exports jumped and imports continued to decline.

Prices — excluding food and energy — rose at a 2.9% clip. The Federal Reserve, under Chairman Jerome Powell, a Trump appointee-turned-Trump enemy, is targeting an annual increase of 2%.

On Truth Social, Trump credited his signature policy for the promising figures, and urged the Supreme Court to uphold them.

“The TARIFFS are responsible for the GREAT USA Economic Numbers JUST ANNOUNCED…AND THEY WILL ONLY GET BETTER!” he wrote. “Also, NO INFLATION & GREAT NATIONAL SECURITY. Pray for the U.S. Supreme Court!!! President DJT.”

In a follow-up post, he added:

Q3 GDP came in at 4.3%, BLOWING PAST expectations of 3.2%. 60 of 61 Bloomberg Economists got it WRONG, but “TRUMP,” and some other Geniuses, got it right. The SUCCESS is due to Good Government, and TARIFFS. Consumer spending is STRONG, Net Exports are WAY UP, Imports and Trade Deficits are WAY DOWN, and there is NO INFLATION! Because of my Tax Bill (THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL) and TARIFFS, INVESTMENT IS SETTING RECORDS. The Trump Economic Golden Age is FULL steam ahead — “You haven’t seen anything yet!” Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging his authority to unilaterally levy duties on imports last month.

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