'Nothing bad is happening’: Trump official raises eyebrows as economy tanks

A new poll shows US voters’ approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy has hit an all-time low, even as the president and his officials insist the economy is the best in the world.

The latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Thursday found that only 31% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, the lowest figure in that survey throughout either of his two terms in office. Overall, 68% of voters said that the current state of the economy was “poor.”

What’s more, Trump’s approval rating on the economy among Republican voters now stands at just 69%, a strikingly low figure for a president who has consistently commanded loyalty from the GOP base.

Despite the grim numbers, the president and his administration have continued to say that the US is now in the middle of an economic boom.

During a Thursday morning interview on CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the US now has “the greatest $30 trillion economy in the world.”

“We are doing great,” Lutnick said. “Nothing bad is happening. Greatness is happening. We grew at 4% GDP! Come on!”

Lutnick’s message echoes the one Trump delivered earlier this week during a rally in Pennsylvania, where he said that voters’ concerns about being able to afford basics such as groceries, electricity, and healthcare were a “hoax” concocted by Democrats.

“Prices are coming down very substantially,” Trump falsely claimed during his speech. “But they have a new word. You know, they always have a hoax. The new word is affordability.”

As NPR reported on Thursday, data shows that the prices of groceries and electricity have continued to rise throughout Trump’s second term, directly contradicting his claims that prices are “coming down.”

University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson told NPR that Trump is playing with fire by making false claims about prices when US consumers can see costs persistently going up.

“Trump’s claims about inflation are false, and you can go to the grocery store and see it yourself,” Stevenson said.

Even some members of Trump’s own party are growing wary of him insisting that America is experiencing an unprecedented economic boom when voters feel otherwise.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Hill that Trump’s insistence on making happy talk about the economy would not fly with voters.

“You can’t call it a hoax and suggest that people are going to believe it,” she said. “What you say matters.”

An anonymous Republican senator also told The Hill that they were concerned about the optics of Trump building a massive luxury ballroom in the White House at a time when Americans say they are struggling financially.

“The cost of living just makes life very difficult on people,” the senator stressed.

And Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) gently pushed back on Trump’s messaging by telling CNN that “a lot of people are still having trouble making ends meet” in her state.