This is what Peter Navarro, the White House trade advisor, told reporters today. Tackling the surprising fall in the U.S. GDP from last quarter, speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Navarro dismissed worries surrounding the 0.3% annualized drop in GDP reported by the Commerce Department for the first quarter of 2025.
Despite the GDP drop, Navarro is undeterred and still bullish on the economy. To this he replied, “This is really the sweet spot we’re looking for.” His comments come on the heels of a phenomenal plunge in all the big stock market indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points, as the S&P 500 index lost a staggering 3.46% in a single day. As of this writing, the S&P 500 is more than 7% in the red for the year.
One encouraging trend that Navarro underscored was the unprecedented boom in domestic investment. He further highlighted that this promising sector has experienced a record 22% growth. As he proposed to observers, look deeper into the GDP numbers. In a broader sense, he focused on the overall economic health and downplayed some of the doom and gloom. “The markets need to, like, look beneath the surface of that,” he remarked.
In testimony and remarks at recent House hearings, Navarro has repeatedly waved away worries about the adverse effects of former President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff-focused economic policies. In fact, he downplayed a $1 trillion market plunge on April 10—triggered by concerns over Trump’s planned tariffs—calling it “not a big deal.” His comments appear to be part of a general optimism trend about investment and economic development potential even in the wake of the recent banking crisis.
The Commerce Department’s GDP report captured data from the first two full months of Trump’s second term, providing a snapshot of economic performance amid ongoing trade discussions and policy implementations.
Leave a Reply