(AFP) – Contraction? What contraction? As far as US President Donald Trump and his cabinet were concerned on Wednesday, all was well with the economy — and with everything else too. News that the US economy unexpectedly shrank amid the chaos of Trump’s tariffs did not stop his top team from heaping praise on the president at a meeting the day after his 100th day back in power.
In a nationalistic touch, red and black baseball caps embroidered with the words “Gulf of America” were placed in front of each senior official around the huge wooden cabinet table at the White House. Billionaire Elon Musk even put one of the red hats — which use the name the administration has unilaterally decreed for the Gulf of Mexico — on top of his own signature black baseball cap.
“Everybody is outstanding,” Trump said during the marathon two-hour cabinet meeting in front of reporters. “I’ve never been so impressed.”
– ‘Unparalleled’ –
The 78-year-old Trump began by trumpeting his core topic of migration, hailing what he said was an “amazing job” of cutting migrant crossings over the border from Mexico. When it came to the economy, Trump’s main message was to insist on the success of his sweeping tariffs — and to blame his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for the economy contracting in the first months of the Republican’s term.
The billionaire tycoon had promised during his 2024 election campaign to boost the economy and lower inflation, but figures released Wednesday showed US GDP contracted at an annual rate of 0.3 percent in the first quarter. “It’s a big ship to turn around, and we’re going to have the greatest country, financially, in the history of the world,” Trump insisted.
Trump then turned to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to his left, joking that he was “my least controversial person” — despite the growing “Signalgate” scandal over Hegseth’s use of the commercial app to discuss airstrikes against Yemen. One by one, Trump’s cabinet — which contains the most billionaires of any president’s top team — then took turns to sing the praises of their leader.
Hegseth, wearing a camouflage tie, credited Trump with a “recruiting renaissance” in the armed forces. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hailed “unbelievable” investment. Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles said it was “100 days that’s been unparalleled in my memory, and the best, I can tell, ever.” Scott Bessent, Trump’s treasury secretary widely regarded as a stabilizing voice on tariffs, hailed Trump’s leadership as “momentous.” The ever-combative Vice President JD Vance then launched into an attack on reporters in the room for “focusing on fake BS.”
– ‘Kim Jong Il-style’ –
On it went, with Musk eventually taking his turn. “Elon, I love the double hat,” Trump said of the Tesla and Space X tycoon. “He’s the only one who can get away with that.”
“They say I wear a lot of hats. It’s true — even my hat has a hat,” quipped Musk, who has been heading Trump’s cost-cutting drive at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency in addition to running his businesses. But it could also be one of Musk’s last appearances around the cabinet table. Musk recently said he will start to take a step back from his cost-cutting role to focus on his Tesla electric car business, amid protests at his involvement in Trump’s administration.
This time it was Trump’s term to dish out praise. “You’ve done a fantastic job,” Trump said as the other cabinet members applauded.
In a later event at the White House, Trump paraded a series of business leaders who pledged to invest in the United States, including the CEO of chip maker Nvidia, Jensen Huang. Not everyone was impressed, though. Conservative Ann Coulter compared the gushing cabinet meeting to North Korea. “Would it be possible to have a cabinet meeting without the Kim Jong Il-style tributes?” Coulter said on X, referring to Pyongyang’s former leader.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
