‘Amazing’: Watch this stunning fact check on Trump’s claims about economic recovery

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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough was astonished by a detailed analysis of the economic pain suffered by many American workers — but not all of them.

“Morning Joe” contributor Steve Rattner, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, brought charts to fact check claims by President Donald Trump and his advisers about the recovery since the coronavirus pandemic destroyed the U.S. economy.

“The pace of job recovery is actually slowing fairly dramatically,” Rattner said. “One other small point, the 8.4 percent unemployment rate is really 9.1 percent — the Department of Labor said there was a misclassification error, so that number isn’t as good either. Let’s turn to this question whether we’re dealing with a broad-based recovery of jobs or something more narrow. What you can see on the next chart are the disparities in how different Americans have fared. This is because the pandemic or the economic crisis didn’t hit every industry equally, travel, recreation, restaurants, so on, where people of color, lower income, women work and it was hit disproportionately hard.”

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Trump makes case for reelection with promises of a swift return to normalcy that experts warn is far off

Washington Post logoBefore the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country, President Trump’s campaign had a simple, economy-focused reelection pitch: “Keep America Great.”

Now, with the economy in free-fall less than six months before voters cast their ballots and daily life disrupted, Trump is trying a new tack: making bold new promises about a swift economic rebound that experts and even members of his own party say are unrealistic.

The president and his allies have embraced optimism as a central part of his new reelection push, offering a rosy message about a swift return to normal life despite the rising death toll and jobless claims resulting from the outbreak. Continue reading.