Why a booming economy is not helping Trump

AN AMERICAN president’s party normally loses ground in midterm elections but this year is unusual.

Economic growth accelerated sharply to near 4 per cent in the third quarter, yet Donald Trump’s approval rating is plummeting, particularly on the economy. His party is haemorrhaging support.

Should it lose both houses of Congress in November, which betting markets see as a live possibility, it would be the first such defeat in economic conditions this favourable since the 1950s.