A bit of encouragement from the White House despite a disappointing GDP report. President Trump on Tuesday said “Our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us.”Now it is time to dig out of this economic hole the shutdown has caused. That will take time because while the GDP shrank in the first quarter, the worst is still ahead of us in the next quarter when the month of April is factored in.

President Trump went on to predict that small businesses and workers will be in good shape thanks to government stimulus packages.

Despite the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. topping a million, Trump also cheered efforts in some states to start opening up for business again.

America’s economy shrank more than analysts expected during the first quarter. The Commerce Department reports GDP shrank 4.8% in the first three months of this year as the coronavirus pandemic started biting deep into the economy.

Experts had forecast a 3.5% decline. It’s the first negative GDP reading since a one-point-one percent decline in the first quarter of 2014.