These days, Donald Trump may be the personification of the Republican id, but that wasn't always the case. Back in 2004, fresh off the success of The Apprentice, and promoting his new book, Trump: How to Get Rich, The Donald discussed his political views with Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
When the 2004 election came up, Trump said he identified "more as a Democrat." Blitzer asked him to clarify if he meant he was socially liberal. Trump replied: "I've been around a long time. And it just seems the economy does better under the Democrats than under Republicans." In the same interview, Trump also dodged questions about whether the success of The Apprentice made him think about getting into politics.
Biden administration US GDP growth, 1.5 years: 16.34%
Trump administration US GDP growth, 4 years: 21.33%
Here are some quick stats you can use when arguing with your own crazy uncle:
1) Since 1947, when official GDP calculations were introduced, GDP growth under Democratic administrations has consistently outpaced that of Republican administrations. This is true even when major crises like the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic are factored out.
Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data | St. Louis
A similar study by Princeton economists found that from Truman to Obama, growth was 1.8 percent higher under Democratic administrations than their Republican counterparts.
2) On average, stock market growth is stronger under Democrats. Again comparing the period since 1947, data shows that markets grew an average of 10.8 percent under Democratic presidents, compared to 5.6 percent for under Republican presidents.
Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data | St. Louis
3) Democratic administrations create more jobs.
Since the 1960s, when the party holding the presidency began to fluctuate regularly, Democrats have, on average, outperformed Republicans in terms of job growth. Republican President Regan is an outlier, as he did post impressive job numbers. Here is a comparison:
Johnson (D) 10 Million
Nixon (R) 9 Million
Ford (R) 2 Million
Carter (D) 10 Million
Reagan (R) 16 Million
H.W. Bush (R) 3 Million
Clinton (D) 23 Million
W. Bush (R) 1 Million
Obama (D) 12 Million
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