logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
20m 23s

Is Trump leading us into a recession?

THE WASHINGTON POST
About this episode

In an interview broadcast on Sunday, President Donald Trump declined to rule out that Americans could see a recession this year as the economy stutters from his efforts to impose tariffs and cut down the size of the federal government

He told Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo, “I hate to predict things like that. 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.”

Today on “Post Reports,” economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai joins host Colby Itkowitz to talk about the economic indicators informing the Trump administration, how businesses and consumers are handling inflation, and whether we’re headed toward a recession. 

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Where’s Martine?

Up next
Yesterday
Deep Reads: A last lifeline in ‘detention alley’
Christopher Kinnison, 46, worked at his own one-man law firm in the central Louisiana city of Alexandria, putting him within a two-hour drive of the state’s nine ICE facilities, the highest number of any state other than Texas. Most of his clients were detainees, and his business ... Show More
30m 6s
Aug 22
Trump's peacemaking dreams and D.C. pizza party
This week, President Donald Trump claimed he’s ended six — or maybe even seven — wars. But his efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine, three years after Russia’s invasion, appear stalled.Guest host Cleve Wootson speaks with White House reporter Cat Zakrzewski and White House cor ... Show More
28m 59s
Aug 21
The Texas-California showdown over redistricting
With a vote of 88 ayes and 52 nays, the Texas House passed a controversial new election map on Wednesday night. If approved in the state Senate, the redrawn lines would create five new congressional districts that lean heavily red.The Texas House vote comes a few weeks after Texa ... Show More
26m 9s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
Trump 2.0: Where Is The Economy Headed?
President Trump’s deportations, tariffs, federal layoffs and funding suspensions have generated nonstop headlines and frayed confidence, yet left surprisingly little trace on the economy. Hiring, spending and inflation look a lot like they did under Joe Biden. As Trump’s first 10 ... Show More
25m 46s
Mar 2025
Why a Worrisome Economy Doesn’t Seem to Worry Trump
As President Trump has rolled out his economic agenda, the assumption has been that he would quickly scale back his most aggressive policies once they began to scare consumers and the financial markets. But that assumption turned out to be wrong.Ben Casselman, who covers economic ... Show More
30m 15s
Dec 2024
Martin Wolf interviews Larry Summers: Is Trump a threat to the US economy?
The US has just overcome one abrupt spike in inflation, which may have cost Kamala Harris her bid for the presidency. But now President-elect Donald Trump’s policy agenda threatens to cause another one. That’s according to Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary and Presi ... Show More
31m 42s
Mar 2025
What's Going On With the Economy?
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he wasn’t going to rule out a recession in the U.S.'s future. WSJ's Ashby Jones explains the cracks starting to appear in the economy and Brian Schwartz reports on how the White House is managing those cracks. See The Journal live! Ta ... Show More
21m 1s
Mar 2025
Trump: Economy In ‘Transition', Mark Carney Wins & Germany's Identity Crisis
Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) President Donald Trump said the US economy faces “a period of transition,” deflecting concerns about the risks of a slowdown as his early focus on tariffs and federal job cuts causes mar ... Show More
16m 41s
Mar 2025
Trump 2.0: The Uncertainty Economy
The Federal Reserve has been focused on cooling inflation and achieving a so-called soft landing. President Trump’s trade policies have sent markets reeling and fears of a recession are on the rise. WSJ’s Nick Timiraos joins Ryan Knutson and Molly Ball to discuss Trump’s economic ... Show More
25m 25s
Apr 2025
Banks Warn of Risk to U.S. Economy Because of Tariffs
P.M. Edition for April 11. In earnings calls today, executives warned that President Trump’s tariffs were sending the U.S. economy into the unknown, hurting consumers and businesses. WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Jonathan Weil joins to discuss how banks are gauging what’s ahe ... Show More
13m 59s
Feb 2025
Trump’s Seismic Economic Shift | 2.15.25
Inflation was up in January as the Biden Administration came to close. Meanwhile, President Trump has announced major economic changes as part of his agenda. We speak with financial expert Eric Schiffer about the impact these changes could have on inflation, trade and American in ... Show More
14m 24s
Apr 2025
Should we be optimistic about the US economy? With Michael Strain
Almost a month since ‘liberation day’, the potential impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime are starting to sink in. US hard data isn’t yet showing much negative impact from changes to US trade policy – but economists are gloomy on US growth prospects. The IMF last wee ... Show More
31m 2s
Apr 2025
How Trump Wiped Out $10 Trillion in Wealth in 3 Days
On Monday, global stocks whipsawed over President Trump’s tariffs, a bear market briefly became official in the United States and tit-for-tat retaliation with China intensified.As trillions of dollars in corporate value evaporates and Mr. Trump’s support in the business world is ... Show More
36m 9s