Trump's Commerce Secretary Claims 'All' Americans 'Are Going To Earn 4.3% More Money' Because the Economy Grew by 4.3%

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Dec 23rd, 2025, 9:48 pm


Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick offered an odd interpretation of some positive economic data that his department released on Tuesday. The Commerce Department released a report showing that the U.S. economy grew by 4.3% in the third quarter, beating the consensus expectation of 3.2%. Government spending and rising exports helped boost much of the growth.

Lutnick appeared on Tuesday’s edition of Hannity on Fox News, where he alleged that the rise in the nation’s gross domestic product means a corresponding increase in the amount of money every single American is making. “How does that affect our bottom line, our pocketbook issues?” guest host Kellyanne Conway asked the secretary.

Lutnick replied:

So just think, the whole world out there in the third quarter, the United Kingdom grew .1. The European Union group, .4, and Japan fell .6%, fell .6%. Donald Trump’s economy grew, the United States of America, the biggest economy in the world, 4.3%.

What that means is that Americans overall – all of us – are going to earn 4.3% more money. We’re making a raise. It’s a simple way to do it. We’ve got more jobs, lower energy costs, and lower interest rates coming. This is the golden age coming. Four point three percent this quarter means Americans on average are making more money, more money in their pocketbooks. That makes for a great Christmas.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/trumps-commerce-secretary-claims-all-americans-are-going-to-earn-4-3-more-money-because-the-economy-grew-by-4-3/

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We are officially here -

[sop]

1. That's the stupidest thing I've heard in quite a while, no doubt Trump will share it in ALL CAPS.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. That'll be the new MAGat "talking point"

[underpants]

4. Hold his beer. Nutlick math. 700%

Link to tweet

?s=46&t=3VBm1LJ8j8qLp6JTs_8J2A

Link to tweet

?s=46&t=3VBm1LJ8j8qLp6JTs_8J2A

[ananda]

19. They have invented the new Maga math...

where you just add two or three zeroes
to every number.

[Rebl2]

13. Have to

agree. Stupidity seems to abound in this administration.

[travelingthrulife]

14. Homeschooling works good.

[paleotn]

3. Besides the ubiquitous "that's not how any of this works"....

... no one with more than 2 brain cells believes the 4.3% GDP number. The "delayed" report was most likely cooked.

Funny thing is, the magat rubes will still believe this crock of shit, even though their pay next year will barely budge.

[tblue37]

5. And we all will grow 4.3% taller! Someone needs to explain this to him.

[johnnyfins]

7. He doesnt need it explained. He is fully aware

that he is a lying, dirty, sack of shit. Rat bastard.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Compulsive liar and idiot. What a combination.

Characteristics of Psychopaths

1. Aggressive, callous, and cunning
2. Complete absence of conscience and empathy
3. Very adept at manipulating others
4. Willingness to engage in immoral, criminal conduct
5. Willingness to take what they want and do as they please, regardless of who is hurt or wronged
6. Deceptive ability to appear outwardly benevolent
7. Deceptive ability to behave in superficially charming ways to hide purely selfish motives
8. Willingness to use intimidation and violence to control others in order to satisfy their own needs
9. Willingness to intentionally violate the basic inherent human rights of others
10. Complete absence of any sense of guilt or remorse for the harm their actions have caused to others
11. Rationalization of their own immoral behavior
12. Will attempt to lay blame upon someone else for their own conduct
13. Denial, will deny their own wrongdoing outright
14. Utter contemptuousness toward the feelings and desires of their fellow beings
15. Pathological lying, will say anything without any concern for truth to advance their own hidden agendas
16. Ablity to feign [fake] normal human emotions and empathy
17. Distorted sense of the consequences of their actions
18. Total failure to accept any responsibility for their own socially irresponsible ways
19. Strong bellef that they will never be brought to justice for their criminal behavior

[Wednesdays]

8. Uh-huh. "The check is in the mail."

It'll arrive in two weeks.

[Turbineguy]

9. In case anyone was wondering how he got the name

Nutlick.

[CousinIT]

10. Republicans never could do math. That's why every time they are in power..

....the economy goes . . .

[lonely bird]

11. Oh, good!

I can add that to my Soros check.

[twodogsbarking]

12. 4.3% is actually the amount of grey matter he uses.

[Wiz Imp]

15. Thing is, he knows what he is saying is a lie. Trump could say and believe it.

But Lutnick knows that what he is saying isn't true, but he thinks lying to the world is perfectly acceptable.

Explanation for why the GDP number is wildly misleading (You'll notice that none of the primary reasons for the increase in GDP as outlined below actually do anything to improve the economic conditions for most Americans. AI Spending and Defense spending is only helping people who work for these small number of companies. Imports decreasing because of tariffs doesn't help Americans because when they replace them with American made products, the cost is higher.):

1. AI spending accounts for roughly half of the increase

2. Defense spending is helping to buoy the economy as well

3. Imports have continued to decrease while exports have increased slightly driving the number higher due to the way this is calculated

4. Inflation is persistent and the bottom half of the country (or more potentially) is still struggling while the affluent are driving consumer spending to a sufficient level to increase GDP.

This last point is one worth looking at a little further. The BEA reported that most of this spending came from healthcare purchases. So it seems likely the a good deal of the affluent spending is coming from older Americans who have benefited the most from the explosion of asset prices while the rest of the country struggles, especially if those Americans aren't having their parents helping them out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/1ptwrl7/us_gdp_grew_at_a_blistering_43_pace_in_the_third/

Government spending is also up which is artificially increasing the GDP.

GDP = C + I + G + (X − M)

where C = consumption, I = investment, G = government spending X = exports and M = imports.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

16. Where the fuck are my DOGE rebate, SS addition, and Tariff rebate checks????

ALL promised me by Donnie Dipshit!

The Cabinet who couldn't get their shit together!

[progree]

17. Trump: "I want my new Fed Chairman to lower Interest Rates if the Market is doing well, not destroy the Market"

I thought the above was the nuttiest thing I read today, but Lunatic saying "all of us – are going to earn 4.3% more money." beats that.

First the commentators on the GDP report have pretty much all pointed out the K-shaped economy -- the higher income people are doing well with the stock market gains and spending plentifully, while the rest of us are struggling with higher prices and rising unemployment.

That phenomenon (K-shaped economy) also is playing out among businesses. Economists said large corporations have mostly managed to withstand ⁠the blow from the import duties, which have increased ​costs, and are investing in artificial intelligence. (Investment outlays helps the GDP number whether or not they are prudent). But smaller businesses ​are struggling with tariffs.

It's also special factors like higher federal spending (including buyout offers to federal workers) and higher defense spending. Also elevated electric vehicle spending in advance of the ending of EV tax credits on Sept 30.

The GDP report also covers the period July 1 - September 30 - just *BEFORE* the government shutdown. So the report doesn't cover the shutdown (which began October 1) or all the bad news we heard in October or November or December so far -- that will hit the 4th quarter report coming out in late January.

Reuters: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the shutdown could slice between 1.0 percentage point and 2.0 percentage points off GDP in the fourth quarter.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-economic-growth-accelerates-third-133710066.html

And the 4th quarter ends in a week. Then it will be challenging economically going forward with extended ACA supplements expiring in a week.
=====================================================

There will be another estimate of Q3 GDP coming out January 22, so yesterday's report isn't the final word.

https://www.bea.gov/news/2025/gross-domestic-product-3rd-quarter-2025-initial-estimate-and-corporate-profits

. . . Next release: January 22, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. EST Gross Domestic Product, 3rd Quarter 2025 (Updated Estimate)

BEA's schedule of news releases show no further 3rd quarter GDP reports other than the January 22 one.
https://www.bea.gov/news/schedule

===========================================
More on the Trump thing --
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-chair-lower-rates-market-183423701.html
No paywall on this Yahoo - hosted article

Fed Should Lower Rates If the Market Does Well, Trump Says, Bloomberg, 12/23/25

“I want my new Fed Chairman to lower Interest Rates if the Market is doing well, not destroy the Market for no reason whatsoever,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday. “Anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman!”

“In the old days, when there was good news, the Market went up,” Trump wrote. “Nowadays, when there is good news, the Market goes down, because everybody thinks that Interest Rates will be immediately lifted to take care of ‘potential’ Inflation.”

(bolding added)
Nobody except you and maybe Besserk and Lunatick (the secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce departments respectively)

Fact check about the last sentence in the excerpt: There have been no rate increases in 2025, instead there have been 3 rate cuts, beginning with the one 9/17.

And there have been 4 rate cuts in the latter half of 2024, including one that was 0.50% instead of the usual 0.25%.

There have been no rate increases since July 2023, 2 1/2 years ago.

And the market has been hardly "destroyed" by "TOO LATE POWELL" - the S&P 500 hit a new all-time-high today.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/111699775

[CanonRay]

18. Then you'll be raising Social Security 4.3% immediately, correct?

[relayerbob]

20. Anyone believing we had 4.3% growth is delusional

Much less the solid pile of horse manure coming out of DC wrt the economy

[progree]

21. Oh another thing, according to the Commerce Dept, the economy did NOT grow by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter

rather, they say, it grew at a 4.3% annual rate. That's quite a difference

Lunatick: "the Economy Grew by 4.3%"

https://www.bea.gov/news/2025/gross-domestic-product-3rd-quarter-2025-initial-estimate-and-corporate-profits

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025 (July, August, and September), according to the initial estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

(underlining added)

[Lulu KC]

22. Brilliant

And love the GIF. What a great show and interesting collection of articles that they used in the titles.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. Where is Rod Serling when you need him?

[Lulu KC]

24. Ain't that the truth! n/t

[KPN]

25. BS ... that's all.