Washington (AFP)

So convinced that his reelection depends on the strength of the American economy, which he continues to boast of good health, President Donald Trump goes into crisis management mode at the slightest sign of economic weakness.

Unpopular and with a relatively poor legislative record, Trump enters the 2020 presidential campaign by facing headwinds, except economically.

Growth has been on the agenda for a decade now, and Donald Trump gives it all credit, citing the lowest unemployment rate in almost 50 years and the "most dynamic" economy in the world. planet.

But he avoids talking bad news, such as the alarm signal issued by the financial markets last week.

US 10-year Treasury yields have fallen short of two-year bonds-the opposite of what is expected to happen.

This "inverse of the yield curve" is a statistical phenomenon which in the past has been the precursor of a recession.

Add to this the growing fears of the fallout from the Sino-US trade war, Germany's warnings of a slowdown and the British chaos around Brexit, and then the big word "Recession" is back in the conversation. .

Unless you are called Donald Trump.

"The word + recession + is inappropriate," the US president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

"We are very far from a recession," he said.

In the world of the Republican billionaire, there can be no economic downturn. Earlier on Tuesday, he tweeted or retweeted more than a dozen people boasting about the strength of the world's leading power economy.

"Trump makes this economy vibrate like a well-oiled engine," he wrote in one of these tweets.

Advisers to the former real estate mogul also flooded the media with interviews in which they hammered the same message.

"Do not be afraid to be optimistic!" Said Sunday Larry Kudlow, a guru of the economy at the White House.

- Game of reproaches -

Donald Trump nonetheless is worried. He already finds people to blame for this recession that, he says, will not happen.

Its number one target is the Federal Reserve (Fed), which it attacks, breaking with all the traditions, for months because of the reluctance of the Central Bank to lower interest rates.

Last week, he treated his boss Jerome Powell as "incompetent".

His scapegoat number two is the US media, accused by the president and his associates of wanting to deliberately stir fears of recession.

Their goal? Handicap, in turn, the record of the Republican.

"They are highlighting the lie of the recession.The fact is that many leftist people want these horrible things to come true," White House deputy spokesman Hogan Gidley told Fox News on Tuesday.

- Tax reduction -

According to the survey of a professional group of economists, a large majority of economists (72%) think that there will be an economic slowdown before the end of 2021.

Half of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economists (NABE) predict even a recession in 2020, which would impact Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

Senior White House officials are therefore reflecting on several measures to stimulate the economy, including temporarily reducing payroll taxes to increase the pay of workers.

"We are thinking about it," Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday.

"He's considering new tax cuts," Hogan Gidley had previously acknowledged.

According to the New York Times, the imposition of new tariffs by the Trump administration on Chinese goods is also under consideration.

The White House tenant said on Tuesday he was "not ready to make an agreement" with China. "We are winning!", He still hammered.

© 2019 AFP