President Donald Trump has doubled down on his insistence that the economy is doing great, despite a slew of polls suggesting otherwise.
The president was giving a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he touted his economic achievements and promoted local candidates he’s backing in the midterm elections in November.
“I saw polls today on television that say ‘Donald Trump polls on the economy aren’t good.’ The economy?” he yelled, faux shock in his voice.
“It’s the greatest economy we’ve ever had by far. The economy aren’t good? They’re fake polls, just like fake writers.”
It’s a message he’s been trying to hammer home all week, telling Fox News at Night correspondent Trace Gallagher that “People don’t know. Then [the press say] ‘in the economy Trump is at 42 percent.’ I shouldn’t be. We have the greatest economy, maybe in the history of the world for any country.”
“We’ve done a great job,” he said later in the interview. “We should be given an ‘A+’ on the economy. I think that is coming. People are starting to talk about it.”
Polling suggests that picture is actually worse for Trump than he claimed, with an AP-NORC survey released on Sunday revealing that only 32 percent of voters approve of his handling of the economy—10 points lower than he thought.
In a major flip, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that voters trusted Democrats with the economy more than Republicans for the first time in almost a decade.
Yet Trump has remained defiant, time and time again.
“My REAL Polling Numbers, not those made up by the Fake News Media, are the best they have ever been, and why wouldn’t they be with the biggest tax cuts and employment numbers EVER, the biggest outside Investment in America in World history, a totally secure Border, a giant Victory in Venezuela, the Denuclearization of Iran, unparalleled respect and success throughout the World, and much more?” he wrote in a shouty, breathless, Truth Social post on Monday.
“Don’t believe the Radical Left’s Fake Poll numbers. They are Crooked and Corrupt, just like the Country Destroying Dumocrats are Crooked and Corrupt. VOTE REPUBLICAN FOR GREATNESS IN AMERICA! Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”
It seems his insistence on dodgy poll numbers is becoming a running theme, writing in June: “MY REAL POLL NUMBERS ARE THE HIGHEST THEY HAVE EVER BEEN.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
