Article snippet: ADVERTISEMENT In a speech at the White House, Trump said the country is growing "at the amazing rate" and that "we're on track to hit the highest annual average growth rate in over 13 years."Trade deals will further help the economy and "we're going to go a lot higher than these numbers and these are great numbers," said Trump, surrounded by top administration officials on the South Lawn. Republicans are hoping that a string of good economic news will bolster their hopes in the November midterm elections. The booming economy is the foundation of the GOP’s pitch to voters as the party tries to defend its vulnerable House majority. Trump and his top economic aides seized the chance to bolster that message Friday with a hastily planned speech held an hour after the growth report was released. The president attributed the boom to GOP efforts to slash taxes, repeal finance and energy regulations and strike fairer trade deals, and he called the U.S. “the economic envy of the entire world.” “Everywhere we look, we’re seeing the effects of the economic miracle all across America,” Trump said. Trump also touted a $50 billion drop in the U.S. trade deficit and a recent agreement with the European Union to negotiate a free-trade deal. “We were abused by countries themselves, even allies,” Trump said. "We were abused like no country had ever been abused on trade before. They stole our jobs and plundered our wealth. But that ended.” Trump and his top aides touted the trade... Link to the full article to read more