Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
strike three
THE CLAIM
The tax cuts will boost gross domestic product (GDP) growth to between 4 and 6 percent.
DJT on December 16, 2017, at the White House: “The economy now has hit 3 percent. Nobody thought we’d be anywhere close. I think we can go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6 percent ultimately. Each percentage point is $2.5 trillion. We are back. We are really going to start to rock. We need this as our final push and you’re going to see some numbers that are really great. You’re going to see great jobs numbers. Jobs are going to come pouring back into this country, which we need very much.”
THE TRUTH
After experiencing a two-quarter “sugar high,” GDP growth fell to the same average growth rate as before. The growth rate increased from 2.2 percent in 2017 to 2.9 percent in 2018 but fell back down to 2.2 percent in 2019.
< In 2020, the growth rate fell to -3.5 percent, but we're leaving 2020 out of this discussion because, thanks to the pandemic, the entire year is an outlier. >