Trump’s pitch to voters: Trust me, economy will soar in 2021

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a new pitch to voters for this fall: Trust me. “It’s a transition to greatness,” Trump says over and over, predicting a burgeoning economy come the fall. “You’re going to see some great numbers in the fourth quarter, and you’re going to end up doing a great year next year.” His chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, echoes the wait-until-next-year sentiment, holding out hope for a “big bang 2021.” It’s a delayed-reward tactic Trump was using long before the global pandemic gut-punched the country. “Unfortunately, I think it’s likely to be double-digit unemployment through the end of this year,” Rosengren told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” To bring back the low jobless levels seen at the end of last February, he said it would probably take a vaccine or “other medical innovations that make it much less risky to go out.” Still, Trump and his campaign are hoping they can convince the public that Trump, not Democrat Joe Biden, is the candidate who can turn things around, even as they push the recovery timeline into next year. If the economy recovers sharply and infection rates remain steady or go down, then voters will reward his boldness, but if we continue to see massive unemployment and a spike in new infections and deaths, all the political wordsmithery the world will offer won’t help him.” ___ AP Director of Public Opinion Research Emily Swanson contributed to this report.