President Donald Trump found an unusual way to celebrate new economic statistics Sunday, telling reporters that the United States now has what he called “the best poverty.”
Trump was speaking to reporters outside the White House before traveling to Illinois for the Presidents Cup when he began listing economic numbers he said demonstrated the strength of the country.
After boasting about employment, Trump turned to poverty.
“We have the best, uh, I guess you could say poverty,” Trump said. “They talk poverty.”
He then clarified what he was trying to say.
“We have the best poverty numbers ever in the history of our country.”
Trump added that there is “less poverty now than at any time in the history of our country” and claimed Americans are making more money than ever before.
The awkward phrase — “the best poverty” — quickly attracted attention online, where critics and commentators seized on the president’s wording.
The moment also illustrated a familiar feature of Trump's public appearances: lengthy, largely unscripted remarks in which policy announcements, economic claims, personal observations and improvised language frequently collide.
Trump had been discussing several subjects during the exchange, including oil prices, the war with Iran, grocery prices, employment and personal income.
For a president attempting to convince Americans that the economy is performing extraordinarily well, “the best poverty” probably wasn't the slogan anyone had planned.
Yet for a few seconds Sunday morning, that was exactly how the president of the United States described it.