Topline
The economy will be a hot-button topic during this week’s Democratic National Convention, with Democrats likely to emphasize the U.S.’ strong recovery during President Joe Biden’s term and the poor state of the labor market when Donald Trump left office—but the truth lies somewhere in between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ claims, as Trump and Biden navigated the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump, left, and Biden at a 2020 debate.
Key Facts
GDP: The country’s economic output grew strongly under both Biden and Trump, with real gross domestic product, which tracks the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the U.S., expanding at an annualized rate of 2.7% during Trump’s first three years and 3.5% during Biden’s. The Trump economy’s annualized growth rate of 1.4% over his full term is weaker, though that includes 2020’s COVID-19 shock, while Biden-led growth is concentrated in 2021 at 5.9%, slowing to 1.9% and 2.5% in 2022 and 2023.
Stock market: Stocks performed better under Trump, though both presidencies coincided with stronger-than-average gains—the S&P 500 index has posted an annualized return of 12.5% since Biden took office in 2021, compared to 16.3% under Trump (and there most certainly hasn’t been the stock market crash under Biden that his opponent forecasted in the 2020 race).
Inflation: Inflation has been far worse during the Biden…
