Reasons #5951 and #5921 That Trump Was Elected

The economic growth number for the third quarter is in; 4.1% annual rate, and boy is the Washington Post pissed: Trump cheers ‘amazing’ economic growth as economists caution it could be a blip

U.S. economic growth jumped in the second quarter, a boost for President Trump and Republicans as they seek to make a strong economy a key part of their campaign message to voters heading into November’s midterm elections. But economists cautioned that the higher growth is probably a blip.

They must have found one or two of those one-handed economists.

The economy expanded at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent from April to June, the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2014 and a sharp jump from the first three months of the year, when the economy grew at a tepid 2.2 percent rate, according to the Commerce Department.

Trump cheered the numbers Friday, holding an impromptu news conference outside the White House, touting the “amazing” growth from his tax and trade policies.

“We’re going to get a lot higher than these numbers and these are great numbers,” Trump said, flanked by his economic team. “We are now on track to hit an average GDP annual growth of over 3 percent and it could be substantially over 3 percent.”

Most independent economists say this quarter’s growth was juiced by stimulus from the trillion-dollar tax cut and a one-time rush by foreign companies to stock up on U.S. goods before Trump’s trade war escalated and tariffs kicked in on many products. Consumer spending was also solid.

But the widespread expectation is that growth will be significantly lower in the third and fourth quarters, probably falling short of Trump’s 3 percent goal for the year.

“The bottom line takeaway is that this growth is not sustainable and it will slow in the second half of the year,” said Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. “President Trump should celebrate this number because it is going to ease from here.”

The federal government will release its initial estimate of third quarter growth Oct. 26, just 11 days before voters go to the polls, making it a key test of whether high growth appears to be sustainable.

Other excuses I heard mentioned were Chinese rush to buy soybeans before the tariffs, and "well, I just hate Trump."

North Korea Sends Remains Of 55 Americans Killed In The Korean War Home and WaPo is downplaying that as well:

One of the key stipulations that President Trump brought to the U.S. North Korea summit in Singapore was the repatriation of our American soldiers killing in action during the Korean War. Today, 55 Americans are on their way home.

A U.S. Air Force plane carrying what are thought to be the remains of 55 Americans killed during the Korean War arrived at Osan Air Base in South Korea on Friday morning, the 65th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting.
The U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft departed for the Kalma Airport in the North Korean city of Wonsan before 6 a.m. Friday. It returned about 11 a.m. local time, where it was greeted by a crowd of several thousand U.S. service members and their families — all American service members in South Korea had been invited to the event.

When was the U.S. North Korea Summit in Singapore? June 2018. Not even two months ago. Yet the WaPo claims that what is happening today is happening more slowly than anyone thought. Really? To deal with the diplomatic paperwork dance plus ensure that those who come home are Americans… this isn’t instant DNA verification a la Star Trek so the WaPo can shut up about the “delay.”

If Trump,  Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric were to personally cooked up a cure for cancer, WaPo would denounce them for putting oncologists, and their nurses out of work.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links.