Trump hails US economic growth, predicts ‘going to go a lot higher’

President Donald Trump hailed the latest US economic growth statistics as an economic “miracle” Friday, saying the 4.1 percent quarterly growth rate was not a “one time shot.”

“As the trade deals come in one-by-one, we’re going to go a lot higher,” Trump predicted, seeing evidence that his economic policies are working.

The US economy roared to life in the second quarter, post- ing the fastest annual growth rate in almost four years and the strongest among industrialized nations, according to government data released Friday.

GDP expanded by an annual rate of 4.1 percent, matching analyst expectations, as Americans bought more cars and as foreign sales of oil and soybeans gave exports the biggest boost in more than four years, the Commerce Department reported.

The result showed the world’s largest economy – now valued at $20 trillion – was in robust health, in part accelerating after the injection of stimulus and tax cuts by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers.

But the preliminary growth estimate – which will be revised as more complete data becomes available – did not fulfill the wildest dreams of some at the White House, however, as Trump touted the possibility of growth as high as 5 percent.

“We’ll take anything with a four in front,” Trump had said Thursday at an event in Iowa.

And White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview just before the numbers were released that growth would hit a rate “the likes of which we have not seen since the 1990s.” He credited Trump’s aggressive trade policies and denied companies were being hurt by tariff measures.

The White House is counting on faster growth to pay for December’s sweeping tax cuts by generating higher revenues, but economists say there is little chance such rapid expansion can be sustained on an annual basis and federal tax receipts already are plummeting.