Trump claims US is ‘economic envy of the entire world’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is praising new economic data released Friday, saying the U.S. is the “economic envy of the entire world.”

Trump is celebrating data showing the U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent.

Trump is predicting that as he renegotiates trade deals, “we’re going to go a lot higher than these numbers.”

Trump says on the South Lawn of the White House that the economic numbers are “very sustainable.”

Trump is joined at the White House by Vice President Mike Pence and several members of his Cabinet. He has been trying to highlight economic gains ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that the gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, posted its best showing since a 4.9 percent gain in the third quarter of 2014.

President Donald Trump is predicting growth will accelerate under his economic policies. But private forecasters cautioned that the April-June pace is unsustainable because it stems from temporary factors. The rest of the year is likely to see good, but slower growth of around 3 percent.

Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the economic record of the Obama administration, pledged during the 2016 campaign to double growth to 4 percent or better.