What expert said 5%?

www.americanthinker.com

We don’t know yet, but a lot of Democrats may be very unhappy soon. Why? Because good economic news may be coming soon. Yes, I mean something called strong GDP growth. Let’s check this out:

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The government’s official report on economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 won’t come out for another six weeks. But a preview should be a cause for celebration for everyone who isn’t a Democratic politician.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta keeps a running tab on the economy, using economic data as it comes in to produce an ongoing forecast for GDP growth as the quarter unfolds – which it calls GDPNow.

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The number usually bounces around a little as that data come in, and the final number is usually very close to the official government report that comes out several weeks after the quarter ends.

But yesterday saw something unusual.

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On Thursday, the GDPNow estimate doubled.

“The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth … in the fourth quarter of 2025 is 5.4% on January 8, up from 2.7% on January 5,” it says.

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The Atlanta Fed attributes the jump to recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Census Bureau, and the Institute for Supply Management.

To be sure, the GDPNow figure will be revised again, and could fall as more numbers come in. But if this one turns out to be accurate, it would mean the third consecutive quarter of increasing GDP growth under President Donald Trump. That’s a far cry from the calamity his critics have been – and still are – predicting. As the GDPNow chart shows, the Blue Chip consensus forecast for Q4 was below 1%.

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You mean doubled, like twice as much? Yes, that’s right. We may hear soon that GDP growth could hit 5%!

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Image created using AI.

The better part of the story is that the experts may turn out to be wrong again. I have nothing against experts, but it may be time to consider hiring or listening to a new group. It’s like a closer in a team’s bullpen. If the closer keeps giving up leads and blowing games, do we need to keep calling him a closer?

It’s important that the Trump administration can explain what all of this means to Mr. & Mrs. America living from coast to coast. The key is for them to feel good about all of this.

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