President Trump says a recession is OK in the short term, in a clip of a pre-recorded interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” released on Friday.
Why it matters: Business owners and politicians alike have shared fears of a recession given the uncertainty surrounding the president’s tariffs.
- Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok put the probability of a Voluntary Trade Reset Recession at 90% in a 40-page slide deck last month.
The latest: When Welker asked Trump if he’s “comfortable with the country potentially dipping into a recession for a period of time” if he were able to achieve his long-term goals, the president initially avoided answering the question directly.
- “Some people on Wall Street say that we’re going to have the greatest economy in history. Why don’t you talk about them?” he instead said.
- But after Welker pushed more, Trump responded that “yeah, everything’s OK. I said, this is a transition period. I think we’re going to do fantastically.”
- When asked if he were worried about a recession, Trump said: “Anything can happen. But I think we’re going to have the greatest economy in the history of our country. I think we’re going have the greatest economic boom in history.”
The full interview will publish on NBCNews.com Sunday.
Go deeper: How tariffs can cause a recession