Is it Biden's turn next? Poor economic data sparks blame storm, Trump shifts responsibility

According to Zhitong Finance APP, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced an annualized decline of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, marking the first recorded negative growth since 2022, which has drawn significant attention from Washington's political circles and financial markets. Current President Trump quickly attributed the responsibility for this economic "report card" to former President Biden on Wednesday, suggesting that if the upcoming second-quarter data is poor, it will also be "counted against Biden." "This is caused by Biden," Trump stated during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. He pointed out that economic trends do not change drastically every day or hour, so "you could even say that next quarter also belongs to Biden's legacy." Trump emphasized that he officially took office on January 20, so the data for this quarter reflects the "situation he inherited." "The GDP performance we are seeing this time reveals how bad it was when we took over," he said. "The performance of the stock market illustrates the problems we inherited." Just hours before the Cabinet meeting, Trump had already responded via the social platform Truth Social, stating, "This is Biden's stock market, not Trump's. I took over on January 20." He also wrote, "Tariffs are about to take effect, and businesses are flooding into the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. Our country is about to experience prosperity, but we must clear the 'shadow' left by Biden." "This takes time, and it has nothing to do with tariffs, but rather because he left behind a bad foundation," Trump continued. "But once prosperity begins, it will be unprecedented. Be patient!!!" However, Trump's attribution of the economic recession to the Biden administration is misleading. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, one of the main reasons for the GDP decline was that businesses rushed to import goods in anticipation of tariffs that the new Trump administration would implement, leading to a trade deficit that lowered overall economic growth. Additionally, a decline in government spending, particularly significant cuts in defense spending, also weighed on GDP. The employment report released by ADP during the same period also did not bring good news. The data showed that in April, the U.S. private sector added only 62,000 jobs, far below the market expectation of 120,000, marking the smallest increase since July 2024. The March data was also revised down to 147,000. With dismal economic data and some listed companies' earnings reports falling short of expectations, the stock market opened sharply lower on Wednesday, although it recovered some ground later in the day, market sentiment remained fragile. These circumstances are bound to affect Trump's closed-door meeting later that day at the White House with more than twenty business leaders. Meanwhile, Trump's "double standards" on economic issues have also come under scrutiny. On Tuesday night, during a speech celebrating the first hundred days of his second term, Trump boldly claimed that "prices are falling significantly" and credited this achievement to himself. However, the latest GDP report showed that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), rose by 3.6% in the first quarter, significantly accelerating from 2.4% in the previous quarter, indicating that inflationary pressures remain. Experts point out that the slowdown in job growth and the decline in consumer confidence are more rooted in market uncertainty and concerns over Trump's tariff policies. Businesses and investors are remaining cautious in the context of unclear policy directions, which has dragged down economic activity