President Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve Board praised the health of the U.S. economy in a new interview, and predicted that a strong economic outlook would boost the president in the 2020 elections.
In an interview with AM 970’s “The Answer,” Stephen Moore told host John Catsimatidis that the nationwide unemployment rate in April was the lowest the U.S. had seen since The Beatles were actively touring.
{mosads}”When everybody thought the economy was slowing down, we get this beautiful number. We’ve got the lowest unemployment rate now since the Beatles were still playing together,” Moore said, adding that Trump “defies his critics at every turn.”
His assertion was not accurate: While the Trump administration does enjoy historically low unemployment rates, the record for the lowest rate in 50 years was last fall, when it dropped to 3.7 percent. As of April 5, it sits at 3.8 percent.
Moore went on in the interview to predict that the U.S. would not enter a recession in the near future, adding that if current rates of unemployment continued Trump would be in a comfortable position ahead of the 2020 election.
“I don’t see any recession on the horizon anywhere as far as I can see,” Moore said. “If the economy 18 months from now is as strong as it is now, I think Trump will be in very very strong shape for his reelection.”
Moore was announced as Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve. A longtime critic of the bank, Moore has been recently vocal against the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates, echoing criticism that Trump himself has espoused.
He currently awaits a Senate confirmation process and has recently disputed news reports claiming that he owes tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS in back taxes and penalties.