In a controversial interview, former President Donald Trump expressed a troubling wish for an economic recession in the next year to boost his chances of re-election in 2024.
“I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover,” Trump told right-wing commentator Lou Dobbs, referencing the former president who presided over the start of the Great Depression.
Trump’s comments reveal a cynical political ploy to gain power at the expense of American prosperity. While the economy has shown resilience under President Biden, Trump is bizarrely hoping for a crash he could blame on the incumbent.
Unemployment has dropped to 3.7%, yet Trump insists “the only reason the economy is running now is it’s running off the fumes of what we did.” This defies expert analysis crediting Biden’s pandemic relief and infrastructure bills for spurring growth.
The parallels to Hoover are ironic given Trump’s disastrous pandemic leadership. Over 1 million Americans died from COVID-19, while unemployment spiked to 14.7% in 2020.
Trump became the first president since Hoover to leave office with fewer jobs than when he entered. But he delusionally claims the strong recovery under Biden is thanks to him.
Biden called out Trump’s anti-democratic obsession with his own power over America’s well-being. “Donald Trump is willing to sacrifice our democracy to put himself in power,” Biden said recently.
Trump is already the first president impeached twice and faces multiple criminal probes. His authoritarian tendencies have experts worried he could ignite a constitutional crisis if re-elected.
This raises the disturbing specter of Trump possibly sabotaging the economy to improve his chances, putting politics over people.
But despite Trump’s wishes, signs point to sustained growth in 2023. Job gains have slowed but remain positive, while wages are up as inflation moderates.
The Federal Reserve forecasts unemployment staying below 5% through 2025. While a mild recession is possible, economists see no major crash on the horizon.
Trump’s Hoover remarks reveal a twisted mentality valuing self-interest over the country. But the resilient U.S. economy may withstand the turbulence of the impending election.
Though Trump snidely compares himself to the president whose policies worsened the Great Depression, Biden’s prudent leadership has set the stage for stability.
Americans must reject Trump’s cynical hunger for power and choose positive solutions. With democratic values triumphing over demagoguery, America’s best days may still lie ahead.
