Vance deflects on possibility of recession

Vice President JD Vance deflected Thursday when asked if he could rule out the possibility of a recession, saying in part “you never can predict the future.” “Well, look, I think you never can predict the future, but I think the economy, the fundamentals of the economy, are actually quite strong right now,” the vice president said in an interview on Fox News. Some context: Fears of a severe economic downturn have escalated in recent weeks. US stocks plunged earlier this week after President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t rule out a recession. Goldman Sachs has increased its chances of a recession in the next year to one-in-five, and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told CNN on Monday there is a “real possibility” of a recession caused by massive uncertainty over Trump’s policy. Trump’s aides have downplayed recession fears, suggesting instead that new tariffs will cause momentary “disruption” as global trade is realigned toward the United States. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday defended Trump’s tariffs as a necessary measure to save the US economy. “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people,” she said, arguing that tariffs are needed to bring production back to the United States and punish countries that have taken advantage of the US in the past. Economists have warned the burden of tariffs could ultimately fall on American consumers.