Trump: "Economy Will Recover Like a Rocket... Floyd Will Also Be Called Great"

Surprising May Employment Data Boost Sparks Claims of "Greatest Day of Recovery in US History"
Possibility of US-China Trade Agreement Review Also Emerges

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Encouraged by the reduction in the unemployment rate in May, U.S. President Donald Trump strongly urged the normalization of economic activities on the 5th (local time).

President Trump held an unplanned press conference on the 5th (local time) after the announcement of May employment trends. He emphasized, "Today is probably the greatest day of recovery in American history."

He continued, "We have the greatest economy in world history. Its strength has helped us overcome the terrible pandemic."

The employment statistics released that day were a surprising announcement that exceeded expectations. While the dominant forecast was that jobs would decrease and the unemployment rate would rise in May, the number of jobs actually increased by 2.5 million. This was especially welcome news for President Trump, who is hoping for an early economic recovery ahead of the presidential election.

President Trump even claimed that the recovery would go beyond the anticipated 'V'-shaped recovery and would be like a 'rocket ship.'

Larry Kudlow, Director of the White House National Economic Council, also said that temporarily laid-off workers are returning and predicted that the June job numbers will improve. He also forecasted an annualized economic growth rate of 20% in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

On the same day, President Trump signed a bill extending the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) period for protecting small business employment from the original 8 weeks to 24 weeks.

While emphasizing the resumption of economic activities, he also mentioned George Floyd, who died after being choked by a police officer. President Trump said, "I hope George is looking down and saying this is a great thing for our country. It is a great day for him and for everyone. Today is a great day from the perspective of equality." CNN negatively evaluated President Trump’s mention of Floyd while discussing the reopening of economic activities.

President Trump also expressed that he might reconsider the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement. He said, "The ink on the agreement was not dry when the pandemic was spreading. So I view the trade agreement a little differently than I did three months ago," "It is good to get along with China," but added, "I don’t know if that will happen."