Matthew Winkler, co-founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News addressing the students of Asian College of Journalism in Chennai on the topic Trump and the Global Economy’ on Tuesday. Photo. Ragu R./The Hindu
“President Donald Trump is inheriting the strongest and best performing U.S. economy because of a series of measures taken by his predecessor Joe Biden,” said Matthew Winkler, co-founder and former editor-in-chief, Bloomberg News, in Chennai on Tuesday (January 21, 2025).
He was speaking on the topic ‘Trump and the Global Economy’ at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ). Referring to a Bloomberg report titled ‘Trump inaugural speech vows ‘Golden Age’ to reverse decline’,” Mr. Winkler argued that the U.S. economy was one of the best performing under the Mr. Biden’s presidency.
According to him, Mr. Biden’s presidency was best in terms of several economic indicators, including GDP, manufacturing jobs, surplus/deficit as a share of GDP, household debt to disposable income, bond market performance relative to the world, non-farm payrolls, home equity, household earnings and performance of the U.S. dollar, when compared to the administrations of his predecessors going back up to Jimmy Carter.
He said policies such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that provided for a direct stimulus package to individuals and small businesses to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19, the CHIPS and Science Act which brought back semiconductor manufacturing companies to the U.S., and a push for electric vehicle manufacturing facilities were remarkable economic measures of Mr. Biden’s administration
He said Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter were also unpopular Presidents, like Mr. Biden, when they left office, but each of them made a significant mark during their tenure. He recalled Marshall Plan by Truman to rebuild the European economies post Second World War, Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Johnson and economic regulations by Carter.
Sashi Kumar, chairman, ACJ, said that under Mr. Winkler’s mentorship, the students of ACJ in 2022 had spotted one of the biggest stories of the year on how Adani Enterprises’ shares were overvalued, three months before Hindenburg came up with the same analysis.
N. Ram, veteran journalist and Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, faculty members and students of ACJ, were present.
Published – January 21, 2025 09:27 pm IST