The U.S. economy grew more than 4 percent in the second quarter — the largest quarterly jump in four years, according to the Commerce Department.
The growth, at 4.1 percent, was the best quarter since 2014.
President Trump is scheduled to hold a news conference Friday morning to discuss the economy.
Ahead of the news conference, the president tweeted, touting the numbers.
“GREAT GDP numbers just released. Will be having a news conference soon,” he tweeted.
The jump marks a sharp increase from the first part of the year, when the GDP growth was 2.2 percent.
Economists say the biggest factor behind the spike is an explosion of exports, particularly soybeans, as countries scrambled to snatch up supplies at lower prices before tariffs hit.
Because of that, there seems to be consensus that this is a “blip” — driven by one-time factors, and that later this year growth will slow down because of the tariffs.
The economy bump comes at a good time for the president and his fellow Republicans. Heading in the midterm elections, they can point to the best economic growth in four years, coupled with the lowest unemployment numbers in 20 years.
The president will also likely use Friday’s report to claim that he fulfilled a campaign promise he made during a debate during the 2016 election.
“We’re bringing it (the GDP) from 1 percent up to 4 percent. And I actually think we can go higher than 4 percent. I think you can go to 5 percent or 6 percent,” he said in October 2016 at the Vegas presidential debate.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
