There has been a great deal of comparison made between Pres. Donald J. Trump and former Pres. Barack Obama that is purposely misleading. Facts have been distorted, falsely reported or just skewed to make one U.S. president look better than the other. However, there is no escaping a one-to-one comparison between them in terms of the hard numbers kept by long-standing government agencies.
Contrary to some reporting, a president’s influence on the country begins on election night. When the final votes are tallied, foreign governments, Wall Street, major corporations and insurance industries among many others, brace themselves for change. What an incoming president plans to do is not a mystery to major institutions. They generally react in advance of a president taking the oath of office in January.
That’s why comparing the hard data between Pres. Trump and Obama starting from election night in 2008 and 2016 makes sense. These are the true facts about each president’s first two years in office.
Trump versus Obama on Unemployment
On election night 2008, Pres. Obama won his first term on a platform of “Hope” and “Change.” At the time of his victory speech, national unemployment stood at 6.8 percent. African-American unemployment was a staggering 11.5 percent, and Hispanic unemployment was 8.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS).
By election night 2010, unemployment had significantly increased during Obama’s first two years, according to the BLS. National unemployment rose to 9.8 percent, and Americans suffered a 2009 peak of 10 percent. Unemployment rates also topped 9 percent in 19 months of Obama’s first two years.
African-American unemployment increased from 11.5 percent during on his election day win to 16.2 percent over two years. The demographic also suffered 22 months over 12 percent unemployment and five months of 15 percent or higher. Hispanic unemployment was 12.9 percent in November 2010 and had hit a high of 13 percent in 2009. The demographic also suffered unemployment that hovered above 12 percent for 18 months.
Pres. Trump’s unemployment data tells a radically different story from his election night win to the recent 2018 elections. After his historic upset victory, the national unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent. By election night 2018, unemployment stood at 3.7 percent with the nation being considered at full employment.
African-American unemployment was 7.9 when Trump won the presidency and has enjoyed all-time lows now hovering at approximately 6.2 percent. Hispanic unemployment stood at 5.7 percent in November 2016 and had hit a historic low of 4.4 percent. Unemployment decreased at a fairly steady rate since Pres. Trump won the White House.
Trump versus Obama on the Economy
It would be unfair to assign the year-ending GDP growth figures to each incoming president. These numbers are the result of previous policy and economic growth. However, the winds of corporate change can be relatively quick, and long-term policy tends to set the table for future success or failure.
In 2009, Obama took over a low-performing economy that posted a year-end number of 1.8 percent. Although the GDP was in steady decline since hitting 3.8 in 2004, Obama-era policies and regulations were unkind to the business sector. By 2008, the national GDP growth was a negative 0.3, and it bottomed out at negative 2.5 percent in 2009. It ranked among worst GDP losses in history. Growth rebounded to a modest 2.6 percent in 2010.
When Pres. Trump won his election in 2016, the GDP growth 1.6 percent, only slightly worse than when Obama took office. The GDP improved in 2017 to 2.3 percent growth and hit a 4.2-percent high during the second quarter of 2018. Third quarter estimates are expected to exceed 3.5 percent. Pres. Trump’s success in this area has been largely attributed to lowering business taxes, removing unnecessary business regulations and withdrawal from anti-worker trade agreements.
Trump versus Obama: Two Important Numbers
Unemployment and GDP growth are strong touchstones to measure the health of an economy. But there are a number of other significant numbers to consider when determining overall economic well-being.
- DOW Jones Obama: The Dow Jones was 8,943 when Obama won his first term and ended at approximately 11,200 by November 2010. Of note, the DOW Jones sank more than 300 points in one day upon Obama winning the White House.
- DOW Jones Trump: Pres. Trump assumed a DOW at 18,259.60. The day after he won, the market soared 257 points. At the two-year mark in 2018, the DOW stood at 25,635.
- Energy Independence: Obama took over a crude oil economy producing 5.74 million barrels daily in 2007. That figure dipped to more than a 50-year low to 5 million in 2018. Production increased to 5.478 million in 2010. Pres. Trump won office in 2016 at 8.8 million barrels daily. That figure rose to 9.352 million in 2017 and recently hit 11.3 million barrels daily, a historic high. The U.S. is currently the world’s leader in crude oil production for the first time in more than 50 years.
Although Democrats and even Obama himself have attempted to take credit for these improved economic numbers, the current administration made radical departures on trade, business regulations, corporate and personal taxation and other policies that are widely regarded as the reason for the booming economy.
It also stands to reason that Obama was not necessarily an “economy” president. His primary focus leaned toward social reform, climate change issues and other initiatives. Pres. Trump’s signature legislation to date has been the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
~ Conservative Zone
Not fair to compare a boy to a man, closest comparison to the black boy would be Carter!
john Other then that statement is just pure unmitigated hate. Why don’t you tell me which President; 1. won the popular vote, not the gerrymandered vote? 2. inherited a better economy? God you right wingers hate!
They don’t like black guys who get things done. Under Obama 97 months of job growth, cut unemployment in half, doubled the stock market, saved the US auto industry and slashed the deficit by almost two thirds. Trumps biggest job gain month was 232000, Obama exceeded that 28 times. But why deal with facts when they love the King of Lies and Fake Facts, President T as he now calls himself.
Excuse me but the national debt was 10 trillion when President Obama took office and a tad under 20 trillion when he left.. He indebted us in 8 years as much as ALL of the presidents before him combined and you have the audacity to claim he slashed the deficit. Give me a break, please. You want to talk about facts? I suggest you learn them first.
You better get a brain…Obama was to be replaced by Jeb…it was the Republicans turn at bat…the only reason the political elite chose the “loser” was when Jeb was blown away by the “red headed idiot” that the ENTIRE corrupt biased fake mainstream media was castigating and heaping malicious malevolent vitriol on and escalated their attacks after the election and doubled down after the inauguration…if you had any common sense or cognitive abilities alarm bells should have been going off all over…When you realize that YOU have been living a lie that was augmented by the “taqyya” policies of the previous incumbent…who heads up an all time FIRST in US politics …a seditious/traitorous 5th Column/Shadow Government…just maybe their will be an awakening…unless of course you ARE part of it…then like the complicit media you will have to double down on the Big Lie-which incidentally they appear to be believing themselves…Tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth …TO THE LIAR!!!
Jim H…. LIke most libs, you’t don’t seem to read the, you just go on blind faith that Obama was so great. If you really want to know the TRUTH about Obama being elected to office twice, is becuase so damn many American’s were afraid to being called a racist for not voting for him. If you look at his track record getting to the off of POTUS all he did for several years was campaign for one office after another. First ran for Illinois State Rep. Once being elected, he almost immediately started running for Ill. State Senate. Shortly after he was elected an Ill. State Senator, he started running for the U.S. Senate. Once elected a U.S. Senator, he started pushing his campaign to become President. He should go down in the annals of history as not only being the Campaginer-in-Chief, but also as the LIAR-in-Chief.
You fail to point out that Obama started his first two years coming out of the worst recession in our history whereas Trump started with a booming economy. Data can prove anything you like, but I’m sure you’re not listening, so…
Fran. Here’s your Kenyans economy.
We have the final nail in the coffin of President Obama’s economic reign. Not only is the average annual growth rate of just 1.48% during Obama’s business cycle the weakest of any expansion since at least 1949, he has just become the only President to have not had even one year of 3% GDP growth.
An average annual GDP growth of 1.48% during Obama’s two terms…
4.2 now. With that said, you forget Obama created more poor people, then anyone. That’s why he’s known as the food stamp welfare king. Obunghole spent more on social programs, then he did our military. Then again, he hated our military. Remember, he told Trump all the manufacturing jobs were gone forever. That’s why the coon added so many job, and business killing regulations. Had you of listened to Killary, she was going to add more regulations, AND raise taxes.
Ford motor company closing plants, cutting jobs, General motors, closing plants, cutting jobs, Sears closing stores, cutting jobs . So much for the tax cuts we paid for creating jobs and raising pay rate. Let’s revisit and make a three year comparison
Would not make a difference…half of the USA is, as Obama himself once intimated, is stupid…The policy/agenda followed by Obama extended back decades…to at least Carter. You are so wrapped up in the bovine excreta that you have been fed by the propaganda spewing fake mainstream media…that you missed the fact that NAFTA etc., were “win – win” situations for everybody else as your manufacturing was gutted and the TPP was supposed to be the “best”deal…for China! Until you can wrap whatever feeble minds you have left around the N.W.O. concept you are all spinning “tops” in mud!!!
@Smoke the closing of Sears is caused by the greedy former top managers that took over the company. They have been milking it for their own gain selling off real estate from closed stores. Amazon is a partial factor because they are affecting all the stores at the mall but the management at Sears is particularly bad. I worked for them and saw vicious management at the store I worked at. They even had the nerve to ask for their bonuses while filing for bankruptcy.
The moves by GM and Ford are responding to changing market dynamics. More people ore now buying SUV’s and Trucks than sedans . They are also lookng to retrofit some of the factories for electric vehicles. Probably with more robotics which is they way things are going. Look to Telsa factory to see what I am talking about.
They failed to point out that the recession was caused by the Democrats failed leadership in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac oversight. They were warned and refused to listen to the oversight committee. Then they allowed Obama to print 2 trillion dollars to bailout these large Corporations. The economy was never “Booming” under Obama. He gave away hundreds of billions of American tax paying dollars to Terrorist countries and took our nation from an 8 trillion debt to 20 trillion debt in a short 8 years. What did America get for 12 trillion dollars under Obama? Nothing! Data couldn’t fix this mess, but I’m sure you’re not listening!
By 2008, the national GDP growth was a negative 0.3, and it bottomed out at negative 2.5 percent in 2009. It ranked among worst GDP losses in history. Growth rebounded to a modest 2.6 percent in 2010. Does that above sentence look like a booming economy to you, if so you need some new glasses or glasses period?
Obama was the worse president ever and that is sad compared to Carter.
Actually it was a financial crash and not a long term recession. Once the financial market began to rally and credit lines were reopened to the public and to business and industry then the economy began to take off on its own. Please don’t tell me that “Cash For Clunkers” and “Shovel Ready Jobs” brought the economy back. In fact it was Bush who got the economy up and going again and not Barack Obama.
There is no comparing the two. It’s been said many times MR Obama makes Jimmy Carter look good. Socialists do not care about the economy, they need the masses needy of the government for help
Democrats are slowly gaining PROPAGANDA points with the young votes and with inner city poor. The lack of EXPERIENCE in the work force/banking/housing among youth and the poor causes them to be more focused on the here and NOW rather than the future. As time goes on the youth will gain that experience but by the 2020 elections there is still going to be loses to Democrat Socialists who preach and demand Free Health Care (which is never free) Free college and so forth causing Taxes to increase and economy to slow.
Comparing the BIG ZERO to President Trump is like comparing a CUPCAKE to a 3 LAYER FROSTED CAKE! There is only one comparison that matters,,,What is our ECONOMY like now compared to 2016,,,And what is our working american today compared to that during the BIG ZERO regime? The other BIG ????? is, how happy is the population today, compared to that during the BIG ZERO regime?? We have experienced the actual failure of a man that was born in Kenya, who should NEVER have been sworn into office, and has been living lies all of his life. He has been on a world-wide tour trying to take down our present president, and Both he and Michelle are doing their utmost to degrade AMERICA under President TRUMP!
We are a STRONGER AMERICA because we have a STRONGER PRESIDENT, one that will not back down from a challenge!
You are saying that with a straight face? Bush got the economy going? There is no truth to anything you posted. Please list your sources.
@Fran Dorm, Trump did NOT start with a booming economy, he started the economy booming. While I’ll agree Obama came into office while we were in a recession, I believe this was NOT the worst recession in our history, may be your history, but not the countries history.
So true!
ABOUT TIME SOMEONE WROTE THE TRUTH. NOW GET THE REST OF HOW OBAMA AND THE LEFT AND THE RINO’S WANT ILLEGALS IN HERE AND MAKE OUR COUNTRY A SOCIALIST ONE ON A GLOBAL FRONT.
The mole from Kenya. Had one thing in mind. Destroy our country. Thanks President Trump for getting the pride of the USA back.
Indeed!
Obama’s plan to destroy the US almost succeeded.
His plan with the Democratic Left were to make this Country a Communist Country!
By the Grace of GOD and many Christian prayers, GOD heard the cries!
Now! Every Citizen that does not desire communism needs to Rise up, VOTE, and Pray that another Socialist does not take The U.S. down!
Don’t Believe it can occur?
Just about did in the Mid terms.
American Patriots won Americans Freedom. NOW! It’s time for American Patriots arise AGAIN!
Every GOD loving American had better
VOTE in The 2020 Elections!
RUN these Turncoats OUT of America!
I am sure that now the Dems control the house, they will work hard to slow the economy and prosperity of America. It’s what they are good at.
Obummer almost destroyed our country………now President Trump is doing everything he can to fix the mess and MAGA!!!!! While Obummer was the worst president EVER………..Donald Trump is the BEST President Ever!!!!!Trump 2020!!!
Obama knew how to behave, Trump doesn’t! B.R.K-M.
Obama was such an asswipe!. Can’t believe anyone with even one molecule of brain power couldn’t see that. All you Dem. crybabies who think everything should be free…WHAT??? And how do you pay for that? Duh…
I don’t know but we deserve it all….again…WHAT???
So what you need to be is Otta here. Get a job, get a life and stop your sniveling!!!
Obama was such an asswipe!. Can’t believe anyone with even one molecule of brain power couldn’t see that. All you Dem. crybabies who think everything should be free…WHAT??? And how do you pay for that? Duh…
I don’t know but we deserve it all….again…WHAT???
So what you need to be is Otta here. Get a job, get a life and stop your sniveling!!!
Puppet master George Soros controlled puppet O Bama. Soros wants to destroy our country and fail our currency. O Bama just let him do it. Enough of lies and deception, deport them both. O Bama is not a civilian of our country but of Kenya.
I believe Obama did more damage to our country then any president in our history, including Carter. I do not believe Carter hated our country. We had hoped Obama would help race relations in our country but he did the opposite. He divided it. I have never witnessed such hate and violence in my lifetime. I am thankful that President Trump is our president.
No comparing an Empty Suit, to a successful Man!
Obama could have gone to Oahu for eight years and done nothing but play golf and the economy would have been better than what he left for Trump.
Apples and Oranges. Obama was all talk and Little action. Trump has delivered more promises and is a man of his word.
Obama was not a good President. He was the worst president this country has ever had and she be locked up and put in jail. President Trump is a great President and is helping America become great again.
Thank God for President Trump & his family….. a truly great president. The above comparison shows GREAT accomplishments for President Trump & his Family.
There was wide spread voter fraud in 2018 election or WE/USA may have gained in the House of Rep also.
What was found in the news CA, FL, AZ was shameful. MN had 500,000 early voters, a new record by double, and I/we saw many voters that were not citizens…. dressed in full drab. Keep your eyes open…. the voter fraud of 2018 is going to force Govt ID Voting, and term limits. There is major stuff coming…. Thank God for Trumps, Sara Carter, Hannity, Judicial Watch, and those that are holding on to the bright light of the USA……USA….. USA…. USA.
Conservative Zone….. Great NEWS Article
Thanks for the article. I have sent it out to my email group not only for saving and bringing out in 2020 but also to have some fun with liberals on another site that absolutely hate Pres. Trump and says that Obama created all of this. Can’t wait until the Rapture which could happen as yearly as April and as late as September in 2019 and let them all have what they think they want but then it will be too late just like it was almost too late for our great USA.
There is nothing to tell about Obama except every thing he did was not good for America all were a lot of lies and more lies his All around 8 years was a total disaster like a true Democrat their emigration laws are the reason the Twin Towers are not there and 3000 + PEOPLE WERE MURDERED PERIOD !
I want ANY OF YOU COWARDLY DEMIs to tell us all why President Obama gave the Ayatollah,(HIS SUPREME LEADER),
Billions in CASH on PALLETS in UNMARKED PLANES just like the Cartels?????
Obama’s (His Supreme Leader) shouted “DEATH TO AMERICA.”
right after he received our Billions?????
He use some of our money to finance terrorist in Yemen???
COME ON DEMIs! Not one of you cowards will tackle the OBVIOUS!!!!!
There is No Comparison between Trump and obama. Trump is a Patriot who is trying to restore our Country to the Greatness it once enjoyed. obama tried to destroy our Country. He did everything he could to hurt this country. Obama is just another Socialist trying to get what he can from others. He never worked a day in his life and President is all about Work. .obama and the leftist Democrats are trying to bring in as many illegals to gain more of the votes to keep the Democrats in office. They and Obama are the despicable leeches in our society. obama might have tried to help Americans, if he had been one himself. The fiasco of obama hiding all of his records should alert the average person that something was drastically wrong. And some Rinos and the Democratic party went along with it. That goes on to show you how corrupt they are with no regard for the American people. obama is a scumbag that should never have been elected anything and certainly not president
I am sick of hearing Obama, Obama, Obama, who I think is a Muslim himself and is a raciest, he is done and over with. Name one thing he has done for the white people. He took over when the economy couldn’t have gotten any worse and it fixed it’s self with out the help of president OBAMA.
TRUMP took over and took the economy to a place it has never been in our lifetime. If the Democrats’ would get off their red butts and get out of their golden thrones they sit in, (including a few republican senators) and try to help the USA and NOT A BUNCH OF MUSLEMS AND ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSERS, we all would be better off.
All O’BLMA did, an ex-community organizer, was bring back racism, as he pitted blacks against whites…. and he had no love for police or our armed forces, as he tried to decimate both, and almost succeeded………Thank God for Trump!
Maggots are worse than Moles.
Obama was an abysmal President – arguably, the worst ever. He was more concerned with utilizing the Cloward-Piven Strategy developed at Columbia University to bring down capitalism. The Stategy called for massively increasing debt – of which Obama did an excellent job going from $8 Trillion to $19 Trillion, and increasing the welfare load to make more people dependent upon the Federal Govt. Again, Mr. Obama did a very good job along the lines of the latter. Wiki says: political activists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven that called for overloading the U.S. public welfare system in order to precipitate a crisis that would lead to a replacement of the welfare system with a national system of “a guaranteed annual income and thus an end to poverty”. Such a radical socialist agenda actually backfired on Mr. Obama, as the poverty level in America hit a 50 year high under him. What was clear was that Obama was doing more than just wreck America’s economic system, but rather our defense system – he literally cut our military in half to pre-WWII levels, fired scores of high-ranking officers, and generally exhibited a disdain for our military. His famous “apology tour” did huge damage to America’s international standing. The scandal-ridden administration of Obama goes beyond bad…with the likes of “Fast and Furious,” Benghazi, Solyndra, IRS targeting of Conservatives, NSA spying, the VA’s waiting list, Hillary Clinton’s illegal use of an unsecured, hackable home-brew server for her official duties as secretary of state, Uranium One, Pay for Play, giving $1.5 Billion of taxpayer money to the Muslim Brotherhood, giving 20 F-16 fighter jets to the Muslim Brotherhood, and as for Obama’s VP and Sec of State Kerry, Biden and Kerry were close friends from their years spent together in the Senate. So there was little surprise when Biden’s son, Hunter, and Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Heinz, one of the heirs to the Heinz ketchup fortune, went into business together in 2009.
They created a number of equity and real estate investment firms allied to Rosemont Capital, “the alternative investment fund of the Heinz Family Office.”
So far so good. Except, “Over the next seven years, as both Joe Biden and John Kerry negotiated sensitive and high-stakes deals with foreign governments, Rosemont entities secured a series of exclusive deals with those same foreign governments.”
In December of 2013, for instance, Biden traveled to China for talks. He brought Hunter Biden along. While there, the senior Biden soft-pedaled China’s clear aggression, and played up the bilateral trade partnership. Ten days after the trip concluded, China’s central bank, the Bank of China, set up a $1 billion investment joint venture called Bohai Harvest RST. For the record, the “RS” referred to Biden’s son’s firm, Rosemont Seneca.
That’s questionable enough.
But months later, in July 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to China, also for talks. Kerry talked little of China’s clear aggression, but did conspicuously note that “China and the United States represent the greatest economic alliance trading partnership in the history of humankind.”
He should know. In the ensuing months, Chinese government-linked firms took major stakes in several of the firms owned or controlled by Hunter Biden and Chris Heinz, and provided them with massive funding totaling billions of dollars. Nor is this the only scandal involving John Kerry
Just an observation, looking at our country now versus the way it was during the Obama tenure, my bank account is growing, we are having trouble finding people to hire and profits are up. Argue as much as you want about the statistics, but if you actually wake up and look at what is actually happening, it is hard to argue that we finally have someone LEADING our country and doing what he said he would do (what a concept for someone in politics). Wake up America and look at what is actually going on. Stop worrying about Trump’s style of leading, and start observing what he is accomplishing for our country. You’d have to be asleep to argue with that.
I read one comment that was Good and said it all!!! I say with President Donald J. Trump America will be Great again!!!
You can’t compare Obama s eight ( 8 ) rotten years to the wonderful two years of this Great President Trump !! MAGA 2020 TRUMP!!!!!