President Trump Claims Ownership of Economic Success

In a recent interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas, held during the Super Bowl, President Donald Trump declared that the United States is presently experiencing the benefits of the ‘Trump economy.’ This statement came amid growing public dissatisfaction with the country’s economic state as revealed by several polls.

When Tom Llamas asked, “At what point are we in the Trump economy?” President Trump confidently responded, “I’d say we’re there now,” expressing pride in the economic progress. His comments arrived as he embarks on a vigorous campaign to highlight his economic achievements, a strategy aimed at winning over critical swing states before the November midterm elections.

A recent survey conducted by NPR, Marist, and PBS News showed that only 36% of adults approve of Trump’s economic management. In contrast, 59% disapprove. During the previous off-year elections, Democrats rode the wave of discontent with economic ‘affordability’ issues to secure victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.

Recorded on Wednesday in the Oval Office, the interview featured Trump claiming that the economy’s current strength has led Democrats to abandon their affordability narrative. He placed the blame for persistent high prices on his predecessor, President Joe Biden, stating, “In the last four days, the Democrats have not uttered the word ‘affordability.’ They’re the ones that caused the problem. I took over a mess in every way.”

President Trump has touted achievements by citing unverified figures, such as a 5.6% growth in gross domestic product during his administration. Official data from the Labor Department, however, reports a robust 4.4% annualized growth rate in the third quarter of 2025. Notably, the economy has not exceeded a 5% growth rate in any quarter since 2021, following recovery efforts from the Covid pandemic.

The economic contraction of the first quarter of 2025 was partly the result of anticipated trade and tariff policies announced by Trump in April, which have had wide-ranging effects on the global market. The Labor Department’s data for the last year’s fourth quarter remains unreleased due to a government shutdown, although the Atlanta Fed projected growth estimates as high as 5.4% during this period.

Assuring continued economic prosperity, Trump told Llamas, “I think ’26 is even gonna be better. You know, we have hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into our country. Actually trillions — $18 trillion is being invested in our country as we speak. And there are factories and plants and thousands of businesses being built all over the country.”

Trump has indeed secured some foreign investment commitments, but even the White House’s own figures reflect an investment sum of $9.6 trillion, significantly lower than his claims, which reviewers have described as exaggerated.

Llamas queried whether foreign-owned factories would become operational in the U.S. during Trump’s term that concludes on January 20, 2029. Trump replied affirmatively, “Oh, yeah. They’ll be opening up over the next year, year and a half, yeah.”

In past interactions with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump has delineated the positive aspects of the economy as achievements attributed to his administration, while assigning responsibility for the harsher economic realities to Biden.

The article was authored by Jonathan Allen, a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, with contributions from Steve Kopack.