U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed concerns of recession Sunday and offered an optimistic outlook for the economy after last week’s steep drop in the financial markets.

“I don’t think we’re having a recession,” Trump told reporters as he returned to Washington from his New Jersey golf club. “We’re doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut and they’re loaded up with money.”

A strong economy is key to Trump’s re-election prospects. U.S. consumer confidence has dropped 6.4 percent since July. Trump spent most of last week at his golf club in New Jersey with much of his tweeting focused on talking up the economy.

Aides sought to reinforce that message during a series of appearances on the Sunday talk shows.

Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, dismissed fears of a looming recession and predicted the U.S. economy will perform well in the second half of 2019. He said that U.S. consumers are seeing higher wages and are able to spend and save more.

“We’re doing pretty darn well in my judgment. Let’s not be afraid of optimism,” Kudlow said.

Kudlow acknowledged a slowing energy sector, but said low interest rates will help housing, construction and auto sales.

Kudlow also defended Trump’s use of tariffs on goods from China. Before he joined the administration, Kudlow was known for opposing tariffs and promoting free trade during his career as an economic analyst. Kudlow said Trump has taught him and others that the “China story has to be changed and reformed.”

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said he fears Trump is driving the global economy into a recession.

“This current trade war that the president has entered our country into is not working,” O’Rourke said. “It is hammering the hell out of farmers across this country.”

Last month, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark rate, which affects many loans for households and businesses, by a quarter point to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent. It’s the first rate cut since December 2008 during the depths of the Great Recession. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that the Fed was worried about the consequences of Trump’s trade war and sluggish economies overseas.

“Weak global growth and trade tensions are having an effect on the U.S. economy,” he said.

Breaking with historical norms, Trump has been highly critical of Powell as he places blame for any economic weakness on the nation’s central bank for raising interest rates too much over the past two years. (SD-Agencies)