White House: Slowdown Possible as Economy Adjusts

As stock markets have declined over the past month, officials in the Trump administration, including the president himself, have declined to rule out the possibility of further economic slowdown as a result of the administration’s policies. 

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big,” President Donald Trump told Maria Bartiromo in an interview aired Sunday. “We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time. It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”

The president’s remarks echo Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s statement earlier last week, when he told CNBC that the U.S. economy will have to undergo a “detox” period after being addicted to growing by means of government spending. 

“There’s going to be a natural adjustment as we move away from public spending to private spending,” Bessent said.

The potential for recession is likely to haunt the new administration, as markets have responded unfavorably to its recent approach. Much of the decline is a result of uncertainty about the implementation of tariffs, one of the president’s signature issues. Trump has twice announced the imposition of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, some of the country’s biggest trade partners, only to postpone them at the last minute.

The administration believes that the long-term economic outlook for Americans justifies any potential disruptions that the implementation of tariffs might involve. Tariffs will “grow our economy in a way we’ve never grown before,” said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday.