The White House criticized Donald Trump on Tuesday after the former president said he hopes the economy crashes soon.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates released a statement saying a president shouldn’t hope for Americans to feel economic pain for political gain.
“A commander in chief’s duty is to always put the American people first; never to hope that hard-working families suffer economic pain for their own political benefit,” Bates said. “Republican officials should welcome the economic progress President Biden is delivering, instead of revealing twisted true colors that would shrink the American middle class in the name of their own cynical self-interests.”
In an interview that aired Monday on Lindell TV, Trump told host Lou Dobbs that the economy will inevitably crash and he hopes it does so while Biden is in office.
“We have an economy that is incredible. We have an economy that is so fragile. And the only reason it’s running now is it’s running off the fumes of what we did—what the Trump administration did. It’s just running off the fumes,” Trump said.
“And when there’s a crash, I hope it’s going to be during these next twelve months, because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover,” he continued “The one president—I just don’t want to be Herbert Hoover.”
Hoover took office when the economy was stable before the Great Depression hit in 1929.
The US economy defied expectations in 2023 after many economists predicted a recession. Inflation went down, job growth remained steady, wages went up and unemployment went down.
“Consumer sentiment is surging and inflation is falling,” Bates said. “All the more reason to continue Bidenomics’ historically successful economic growth, job creation, and cost reduction momentum over the volatility of MAGAnomics — which economists warn would worsen inflation with tax giveaways to rich special interests.”
