The deafening silence of the President’s critics

It’s a playlist that seems stuck on repeat: Someone on the left makes a wild, baseless prediction that America’s economy will be destroyed by the Presidency of Donald J. Trump . . . only to be proven wrong time and time again by every shred of evidence.

It happened again on Friday, as the U.S. economy beat expert expectations (sound familiar?) and grew at a powerful 3.2 percent. What’s more, the first quarter of a given year is often the slowest, meaning American GDP growth in 2019 could soar even higher.

Watch: “It's a blowout number,” Larry Kudlow says

When President Trump took office in 2017 with a message of national renewal, he saw America as an engine of prosperity waiting to rev up again—a vision that most of Washington had written off years earlier. When he set the goal of returning to 3 percent growth, President Obama’s former economic adviser Larry Summers said that target was “fair enough if you believe in tooth fairies.”

Of course, that forecast pales in comparison to now-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) description of President Trump’s tax cuts as “Armageddon,” or to liberal economist Paul Krugman’s prediction of a “global recession, with no end in sight.”

Yet the Trump Economy’s strongest feature is even more underreported than its impressive top-line numbers. “Blue-collar workers are beating white-collar workers,” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow says. In other words, it’s the working class rather than the professional class that’s getting the biggest boost from higher wages.

None of this happened by accident. President Trump’s economic agenda from day one has been to rebuild the great American middle class from the bottom up. That means lower taxes, trade deals that put our workers first, American energy leadership, the return of manufacturing jobs, and a commitment to having the best infrastructure on Earth.

By the numbers: 2019 starts off with a bang

Ben Carson: A new dawn for economic opportunity

Video of the Day

On Friday, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Akie Abe of Japan to the White House. As part of the visit, the two First Ladies visited the Washington Monument and National Arboretum over the weekend.

The U.S.–Japan alliance has been a cornerstone for peace and prosperity in Asia—and around the world—for decades. Together, the economies of the United States and Japan account for about 30 percent of global GDP, meaning that strong ties between the two nations are essential for stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

In May, President Trump and the First Lady will travel to Japan to be honored as the first official State Guests following this week’s enthronement of Emperor Naruhito.

A message from President Trump on the Passover shooting

A horrific shooting took place at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in California over this weekend as its congregation gathered for the last day of Passover. What was supposed to be a day of celebration ended in tragedy, leaving one dead and three injured.

No community of faith should ever be targeted for their beliefs, and no form of bigotry should be tolerated in the United States of America. Yesterday, President Trump spoke with Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was injured during the weekend’s attack.

In awful moments like these, the very best of America often reveals itself. As the gunman opened fire, an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent stepped into action to prevent further loss of life. “Sincerest THANK YOU to our great Border Patrol Agent who stopped the shooter at the Synagogue in Poway, California,” the President shared on Twitter. “He may have been off duty but his talents for Law Enforcement weren’t!”

Watch President Trump’s statement on the Passover shooting.

More: ‘Off-duty Border Patrol agent who tried to stop synagogue shooting suspect hailed as hero,’ Washington Examiner reports