Economist Steve Moore on Wednesday expressed enthusiasm about the latest U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) numbers.
GDP rose at an annual rate of 3.0% in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting a decrease in imports and an uptick in consumer spending, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Moore said on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that the figures reflect the success of President Donald Trump’s economic policies.
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“Oh my gosh, what a day. I cannot believe these numbers that came out today, Charlie. Trump is just hitting it out of the park,” Moore told host Charlie Kirk. “And do you remember five months ago when all the leftists said, ‘Oh, Trump is going to cause a second Great Depression. He’s going to destroy the economy and the stock market’s gonna crash.’”
“We got the news today of 3% economic growth for the second quarter,” he continued. “That’s higher than any quarter, I believe, in the four years that [Joe] Biden was president. This economy is cooking right now.”
The GDP under Biden did exceed 3% multiple times during his administration, according to Trading Economics. The 3% GDP rise marked a rebound from the first quarter of 2025 when real GDP had decreased 0.5%, according to the BEA.
Many economists predicted that Trump’s sweeping tariffs would cause higher inflation and other negative effects, but several economic indicators have demonstrated strength, including the stock market, which has reached record highs.
Manufacturing output also rose 0.1% in June after an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in May, the Federal Reserve Board reported on July 16. Moreover, U.S. jobless claims for the week ending July 19 plunged by 4,000, marking a sixth straight week of decline and a three-month low, Reuters reported.
Furthermore, U.S. retail sales growth bounced back more than expected in June, rising 0.6%, according to advance estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released July 17.
Trump has also announced significant trade deals during his second term, including with the European Union, Japan and the Philippines.
Comedian Bill Maher admitted on a Monday episode of his “Club Random” podcast that he was wrong in predicting Trump’s tariffs would ruin the U.S. economy by July.
“[T]he stock market is at record highs. I know not everybody lives by the stock market, but I also drive around. I don’t see a country in a depression at all,” he said. “I see people out there just living their lives. And I would have thought — and I gotta own it — that these tariffs were going to fucking sink this economy by this time — and they didn’t.”
Moore also admitted on “Kudlow” in May that increased inflation from tariffs Trump levied had not materialized.
“I’ve been wrong. I thought these tariffs would cause higher inflation. Tariffs are taxes, and consumers bear some of the cost of that, but it just isn’t showing up in the numbers right now,” Moore told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “It just really isn’t and if you look at any, almost any measure of inflation right now, it’s pretty tame.”
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