President Trump was quick to respond Wednesday to the news that the US economy contracted for the first time in three years, which sent stock indexes lower.
“This is Biden’s Stock Market … we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang,'” he said in a social media post.
He added a series of all-caps messages saying that the contraction has “NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS” and also “BE PATIENT!!!”
The timing of the lower-than-expected GDP number and further sell-off couldn’t be worse for Trump.
The president is set to finish his first 100 days in office today with another series of dour economic indicators creating new pressure on his trade plans, especially after tariffs drove a historically bleak start to his presidency in the stock market.
The Wednesday morning post was part of a scramble from Trump and his team to explain the news. White House Trade Counselor Peter Navarro said on CNBC, “That’s the best negative print I have ever seen in my life,” pointing to things like a surge in imports and domestic investment.
Markets need to “look beneath the surface,” he added.
It all came in response to a Bureau of Economic Analysis advance estimate of first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) finding that real GDP decreased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025. It was both below expectations and the first negative GDP reading since 2022.
It’s a reading that spans the last 20 days of Joe Biden’s presidency and approximately 70 of Trump’s first days in office.
Trump is clearly aiming to focus on those first 20 days and avoid talk of the impact of his historical tariff efforts with claims that few economists would agree with.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market-focused think tank in Washington, D.C., was one of the many to quickly push back.
“That didn’t take long,” senior economist Ryan Young offered in a statement, adding that “the US is halfway to a self-imposed recession, and tariffs are to blame.”
Wednesday’s GDP reading came in significantly lower than the 2.4% rate of growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2024.
It was also the latest in a recent series of anemic numbers, including a below-expectations private sector jobs report, also released on Wednesday, that raises the stakes for Friday’s overall jobs report from the government.
Democrats immediately jumped on the number, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts among the many who tied the lower GDP reading with tariffs.