Trump camp warns stagflation on the way after disappointing GDP report

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign warned Thursday that “stagflation is a real possibility” under President Biden after economic data showed America’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by just 1.6% in the first three months of this year.The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released the troubling statistic, which came in far under the 2.4% forecast by economists.“[N]o amount of deflection will change the fact that those suffering the most — middle class working Americans are looking for a new direction and believe that only President Donald Trump can fix the current economic crisis,” read a memo from top advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.“With 1.6% GDP, far short of the 2.5% forecast, coupled with rising inflation — stagflation is a real possibility,” they added, using the portmanteau of “stagnation” and “inflation” commonly associated with periods of high prices and low growth in the 1970s.Trump himself told reporters outside his criminal trial in Manhattan Thursday: “Gasoline is going way up, energy costs are going way up and the stock market is in a sense crashing.The numbers are very bad.”“This is Bidenomics,” the 45th president needled his opponent, referencing White House economic messaging that surveys showed fell flat with potential voters.Seven in 10 voters from seven battleground states told a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday that they felt the US economy was headed in the “wrong direction,” with a majority of voters also having an unfavorable opinion of Biden.House Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) blamed “Democrats’ reckless spending and President Biden’s failed economic policies” for the “shockingly low” numbers and 3.5% surge in consumer prices for the 12 months ending in March.“When you overstimulate demand with massive federal spending and — at the same time — constrain supply with increased taxes and regulations, you get...