Trump Won't Rule Out A Recession In 2025

President Donald Trump is confident that the country's economy has a bright future — but he isn't ruling out a 2025 recession just yet.

"I hate to predict things like that," Trump said when pressed about the possibility of a recession during a recorded interview that aired on "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."

The president touted his unconventional use of tariffs on allies and efforts to drastically cut down the country's federal workforce. But when Bartiromo asked about rising fear of an economic slowdown, he didn't rule out a recession — or the potential growing pains involved in achieving his economic agenda.

"There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing."

The rosy economic outlook that greeted Trump's return to the White House has dimmed in recent weeks. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% in February, boosted by firings in the public sector. And consumer confidence fell by the most in any given month since August 2021.

At the center, concerns shared by American consumers that tariffs will raise prices on everyday goods and a desire for clarity among corporate CEOs as the president has continually announced and then rolled back new tariff packages. His moves last week, levying and then delaying 25 percent tariffs on a major chunk of Mexican and Canadian goods until April, are just the latest example. The confusion has sent markets scrambling. The S&P 500 fell by more than 3 percent on the week.

Trump has used tariffs to pressure Canada and Mexico to stem the flow of fentanyl. But he also views them as a vital tool in rewiring the American economy to focus more on manufacturing and production.

"What I have to do is build a strong country. You can't really watch the stock market," Trump told Bartiromo. "If you look at China they have a hundred-year perspective. We have a quarter. We go by quarters. And you can't go by that. You have to do what's right. What we're doing is, we're building a tremendous foundation for the future."

And his message for manufacturers?

"Build it here. There's no tariff."

While Trump plays a cautious tune, others in the administration are far more bullish on the president's prospects for riding out the economic uncertainty. Just ask Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Americans should "absolutely not" brace for a recession.

"Anybody who bets against Donald Trump," Lutnick told moderator Kristen Welker. "It's like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn't a winner a year ago. Donald Trump is a winner. He's going to win for the American people. That's just the way it's going to be. There's going to be no recession in America."