White House economist Kevin Hassett admitted Monday the president was incorrect when he claimed earlier in the day that GDP growth was higher than the unemployment rate for the first time in more than a century.
“What is true is that it’s the highest in 10 years, and at some point, somebody probably conveyed it to him, adding a zero to that, and they shouldn’t have done that,” Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters during Monday’s White House press briefing.
Hassett was responding to a question regarding the accuracy of an early-morning tweet posted by the president Monday.
“The GDP Rate (4.2%) is higher than the Unemployment Rate (3.9%) for the first time in over 100 years!” Trump tweeted.
The GDP Rate (4.2%) is higher than the Unemployment Rate (3.9%) for the first time in over 100 years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2018
The president’s tweet was quickly refuted as, according to reports, GDP growth has topped the unemployment rate numerous times since 1948.
Hassett said reporters would have to speak with the president about where the 100-year figure came from and said the correct number is 10 years.
“The history of thought of how errors happen is not something that, you know, I can engage in, because, like, from the initial fact to what the president said, I don’t know the whole chain of command,” he said.
The White House economist also expressed gratitude to the press for identifying errors.
“When the press finds mistakes that we make, we don’t like making mistakes, but we’re grateful when they’re pointed out, because we want to correct them,” Hassett said.
