CHRIS CRUCIAL: Want to see something crazy? 🤪

PLUS: The Trump gang is back together!

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1. Welcome to the recession!

We can have a debate — a real and serious one — about the relative strength of the economy at the moment.

I could take the pessimistic side and note that inflation (3.4%) is 10 times higher than it was four years ago (.3%). Gas prices are 60 cents higher than they were in 2021. Affordable housing remains a major problem.

You could take the optimistic side — noting that unemployment rates are low, Gross Domestic Product is increasing and so is the Consumer Price Index.

Like I said: It is a reasonable argument to have.

But, here’s what we can’t debate: That the economy is in recession. The technical definition of a recession is two straight quarters of declining GDP, which we don’t have. That’s just a fact.

And yet, I bring you this headline from a new Harris poll conducted for The Guardian:

Like, what? Or, more accurately, WHAT?

To be clear: 56% of Americans believe the U.S. is currently in a recession. That includes two-thirds of Republicans, 53% of independents and, wait for it, 47% of Democrats.

But, there’s more. So much more. These two data points from The Guardian are truly and profoundly amazing:

1. “49% believe the S&P 500 stock market index is down for the year, though the index went up about 24% in 2023 and is up more than 12% this year.”

2. “49% believe that unemployment is at a 50-year high, though the unemployment rate has been under 4%, a near 50-year low”

Let me say again:

And then there’s this: Nearly 6 in 10 Americans in the poll blame Joe Biden for the current recession. (Reminder: There is NO recession.)

So, um, how did we wind up here?