President Trump in a new interview said he will “stand with” third quarter economic data set to be released ahead of Election Day, tying himself closely to the announcement as he seeks a bounce before Nov. 3.
“The good news, I guess, I hope, is that your third quarter numbers are going to be released about two or three days before the election,” Trump said on an American Enterprise Institute podcast recorded Tuesday.
“So, they’ll be released at the end of the month, or maybe Nov. 1, and that’s right before the election, and I’ll stand with them,” Trump added. “I think you’re going to have numbers, are going to be record-setting numbers. Like, literally, record-setting numbers. We’re coming back very, very strong.”
The first estimate of third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be released in two weeks on Oct. 29, just five days before Election Day. That data is expected to show a big jump in the pace of growth during July, August and September as the country began climbing out of the pandemic-induced economic collapse.
Trump and his top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, have both pointed to the looming third-quarter GDP report as what they expect to be a strong indicator of the administration’s handling of the economic effects of the pandemic.
The final jobs report before the election has already been released, however, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been cast through the mail and via early in-person voting.
The president has staked his reelection bid largely on the argument that he is the best man to lead the country through an economic revival after the pandemic, but polls have consistently shown that voters trust Democratic nominee Joe Biden more on the public health crisis, and the former vice president leads Trump in polls in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, all critical swing states.