President Trump touted new data Wednesday showing that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 3 percent in the second quarter of 2017, while attempting to take a shot at his predecessor, Barack Obama.
“We just announced that we hit 3 percent in [gross domestic product]. It just came out. And on a yearly basis, as you know, the last administration during an eight-year period never hit 3 percent, so we’re really on our way,” Trump said during a speech on tax reform in Springfield, Mo.
The Commerce Department earlier Wednesday updated its estimate for second-quarter growth from 2.6 percent to 3 percent.
Under Obama, the economy hit or surpassed 3 percent growth during numerous quarters, but never sustained that level of growth for a full year. During the third quarter of 2014, for example, the economy grew at an annualized rate of 5.2 percent.