WASHINGTON –  DNC Interim Chair Donna Brazile issued the following statement on news that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2016, the fastest rate of growth in over two years, and more than double last quarter’s rate:

“Today’s GDP report is further proof that Democratic leadership in the White House is the right choice to keep our economy growing. We must elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine to build on the economic progress of the last eight years. At the end of the last Republican administration, our economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month and millions of Americans were losing their homes and savings. But thanks to President Obama’s leadership, our economy has rebounded, and U.S. businesses have created more than 15 million new private-sector jobs over the last 79 months.

“Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine will build on that momentum and create an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. They understand that despite the gains we’ve made, there’s still more work to do, and they have the experience and the vision to get it done. They’re going to fight to grow America’s middle class, fight to reduce income inequality, and fight to raise wages for hardworking families.

“Donald Trump would only undo our hard-won progress. He regularly distorts the truth about our economic growth to scare voters, he said he thinks wages are too high, he rooted for the 2008 housing crisis because he believed he could profit from it, and for years he outsourced the manufacture of many Trump products. What’s worse, Trump’s reckless tax proposals would add nearly $21 trillion to the debt over two decades while handing massive tax breaks to those at the very top. Even John McCain’s former economic advisor predicted that Trump’s plans could ignite a new global recession and cost nearly 3.5 million U.S. jobs.

“Of course, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine won’t be able to do it alone. That's why it's important to end Republican obstruction and inaction, take back the House and Senate, and elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”