White House dances around the word ‘recession’ despite strong GDP report

The White House said Thursday that the latest gross domestic product report shows the strength of the economy but did not directly predict that the United States will avoid a recession.

The economy grew by 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023, according to new data published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard joined White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Thursday’s briefing to discuss the third quarter report.

ECONOMIC GROWTH SURGED IN THIRD QUARTER TO 4.9% RATE DESPITE HIGH INTEREST RATES

Asked if, based on the new GDP numbers, the Biden administration is “no longer worried about a recession in the near term,” Brainard responded by saying that “the data in recent months has all pointed in the same direction” but did not specifically say whether the administration now believes the economy will not shrink for consecutive periods next year.

“We are seeing strong ongoing growth with inflation coming down. We’re seeing unemployment staying below 4%, 20 months in a row now, with inflation coming down,” she continued. “And so those data which have been sustained now, for a relatively long period of time, suggest that there’s ongoing resilience there.”

Brainard additionally cited a “record rate” of small business formation, claiming that “there’s a lot of dynamism in the economy that people are really taking notice of.”

“The president has a historic legislation that is leading to historically high amounts of construction in the manufacturing sector. It’s really leveraging private sector investments,” she closed. “So for all those reasons, the ability to see the economy continue growing with inflation down — the strongest growth, lowest inflation among the G7.”

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You can watch Thursday’s briefing in full below.