The Breitbart Business Digest (BBD) had the opportunity to sit down for an exclusive interview with a tanned, rested, and jovial Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week for more than two hours. The conversation repeatedly returned to the state of the U.S. economy and his predictions for this election year and beyond.
Trump Roasts “Bidenomics”
The first thing on our mind was to get his broader assessment of “Bidenomics.” If you asked 100 people what the term means, you’d probably get 100 different responses, and we never did get President Trump’s exact definition, but he did say the term has been very bad for Biden.
“The fake news media came out with it, and it wasn’t supposed to be particularly good; but he liked the term and he’s used it,” the former President told us. [BBD Fact Check: True.] “But it seems to be bad for him because it really means inflation, it means bad economy, it means high taxes, and it means I think chaos and stupidity.”
President Joe Biden speaks gives a speech touting his economic policies on August 15, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
That’s a pretty dang good definition, as far as we’re concerned. The “Bidenflation” is absolutely the defining feature of Joe Biden’s stewardship over the world’s largest financial engine, and any honest person would tell you the same. This is perhaps why the White House, Democrats, and the media have vacillated on whether or not to even use the term "Bidenomics." Just a month ago it appeared as though the term was going to be memory-holed, but it resurfaced just today on NBC.
White House gaslighting and wishful thinking aside, it’s hard to disagree with President Trump’s assessment that the term “Bidenomics” is not effective branding, so he was probably pleased to see the White House press secretary dust it off.
“I think it’s a bad term for him. He uses it, but I think it’s a bad term for him,” Trump said. We believe Trump, who is arguably the world’s greatest marketer, was being literal here. Yet, don’t be surprised if Biden ignores his likely opponent’s advice and continues to flog this pony.
The former president went a step further and warned America (via one of your humble Breitbart Business Digest reporters) that the Democrats will raise taxes if they retain the White House and take the Congress this year.
How would American families--who have already been squeezed by Bidenflation--cope with this? Hopefully we’ll never have to learn the answer to that.
Trump Predicts the Fed Will Lower Rates to Help Democrats
We also were keen to ask Trump if he thinks the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell will cut interest rates specifically to help Joe Biden (or another Democrat) win the general election. The former President said he does think that is how things will play out.
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell speaks as President Joe Biden during a press conference on November 22, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Yeah, I think they will,” he said, before taking a light dig at Powell. “I was never a big fan of this guy,” Trump told us, before casually pointing the finger at his own Treasury Secretary. “Steve Mnuchin recommended him, but I was never a big fan.”
Trump, who is prone to interrupting his own answers to share wildly entertaining personal anecdotes, then reminded us of some of Powell’s more dramatic maneuvers during Trump’s administration. “I was jawboning him big league that at one point he dropped the rate by like one point—do you remember that?” BBD Fact Check, again, is pretty much true here. In 2020, Powell did drop rates a historic 100 basis points. Even before then, the media would complain that Trump seemed to have an ability to alter Powell’s actions by, as Trump would say, “jawboning.” “Federal Reserve Caves to Trump, Dumps Lighter Fluid on U.S. Economy,” read one Vanity Fair headline in 2019. “The president’s psychotic tantrums finally break the Fed—just in time for 2020,” according to the establishment media whiners.
Back to the crux of the matter: “[Powell] will, in my opinion, do something that will lower the rates and maybe keep things going," Trump told us.
If Powell did this, would it amount to election interference? Obviously, it would, and Trump acknowledged that in the interview.
And you thought Americans were living and dying on every move the Fed makes over the past few years?
Just wait for 2024 to fully kick into gear.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, NH. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)
Trump Uses the “D” Word
During the conversation, the former president repeatedly issued a dire economic prediction: “If I don’t win, you’re going to end up with a depression.”
He made sure to emphasize the letter “d.”
What could be a better way to kick off this monumental year in American history than with the former president and presumptive GOP nominee raising the stakes to epic heights – exclusively in the Breitbart Business Digest?
Happy New Year! Let’s make it a productive one.
Read the rest of the articles on our exclusive interview with Donald Trump here. Matthew Boyle contributed reporting to this newsletter.
