President Donald Trump urged patience after a new report showed the first decline in the U.S. economy in three years, putting blame on his predecessor while predicting that his new tariffs will lead to a boom ''like no other.''
U.S. gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services, shrank at an 0.3% annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said on April 30. That's down from a 2.4% increase at the end of last year.
The first quarter covers the first three months of the year, the first three weeks of which were helmed by former President Joe Biden, whose last full day in office was Jan 19. The report also covers a period of time under Trump when the economy and the stock market have experienced turbulence in reaction to his tariff policies.
Trump blamed his predecessor for the country's tariff-induced economic slowdown in the first three months of the year, calling it the "Biden Overhang" one day after reaching 100 days in the White House and with more troubling signs emerging that are tied to the Republican's economic policies.
Stocks dipped in reaction to the latest U.S. government economic news, prompting Trump in a morning Truth Social post to put the blame on former President Joe Biden: "This is Biden's Stock Market, not Trump's," the president wrote. "I didn't take over until January 20th."
Trump's comments came as businesses imported a massive trove of goods before Trump's sweeping tariffs took effect, which widened the U.S. trade deficit and curtailed growth. Excluding the tariff effects, the underlying economy turned in a solid showing in the first quarter despite tumbling consumer confidence and rising business uncertainty over the import fees.
A day after Trump unveiled his sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries on April 2, including a universal 10% tariff and higher tariffs on goods from specific countries, the U.S. stocks plummeted in their worst session since 2020. The stock market reacted to retaliation warnings from around the world the day after Trump's tariff program aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing by pressuring companies to make their products in America.
U.S. consumer sentiment fell for the fourth month in a row in April as Americans question what tariffs and trade tensions will mean for their wallets, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
On Truth Social, Trump put a positive spin on his economic policies and promised voters who elected him last November that more time is needed to improve the U.S. situation.
"Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden "Overhang," Trump wrote. "This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!"
Goods imports spiked at an annual rate of 50.9% the first three months of the year and the nation's trade deficit widened by $14 billion to a record $162 billion in March as businesses ramped up shipments in anticipation of tariffs. All told, the first quarter's yawning trade gap subtracted about 5 percentage points from economic growth.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the influx in imports was an anomaly caused by tit-for-tat tariffs that he expects to reverse in the next quarter and contribute to economic growth.
"What happened with the numbers today is we had a fairly extraordinary surge of imports that was totally driven by the rest of the world trying to get their products in here before the tariffs took full hold," Navarro told reporters at the White House, referring to it as a "one-shot" deal.
Navarro said that the tax bill Republicans in Congress are working to pass that includes 100% expensing for equipment and buildings in the U.S. would also stimulate domestic investment.
The U.S. stock market recorded its worst first 100 days of any presidential term since President Gerald Ford assumed office after President Nixon resigned in 1974, according to a Center for Financial Research and Analysis report.
Trump's push to blame Biden for the stock market plunge under his watch is undercut by the stock performance of his predecessor. The S&P 500, which tracks the stock performance of 500 leading companies, grew by 14% annually during Biden's four years in the White House, including by 23% in 2024 and 24% in 2023.
During Trump's first 101 days of his second term, the S&P 500 is down about 8%.
"When Joe Biden handed Donald Trump the best-performing economy in the world, experts praised the U.S. for leaving every other wealthy nation 'in the dust,' former Biden deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said. "Now we're plummeting toward a Trumpcession."
Meanwhile, Trump tried to take credit for the booming stock market during Biden's final year, arguing back then that investors were predicting a Trump 2024 election victory. "THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET," Trump wrote in a Jan. 29, 2024 Truth Social post, when Biden was the sitting president.
The administration has currently imposed a 90-day pause on new reciprocal tariffs, while raising rates on Chinese goods to as high as 245% when counting the tariffs imposed during Trump's first term and the Biden administration.
What the Trump administration means for your wallet: Sign up for USA TODAY's Daily Money newsletter.