Abbott: US economy improving is because ‘Texas economy is doing so well’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appeared to take credit for the boost in the U.S. economy, saying Sunday that the improvements across the country are because his state’s economy is “doing so well.”

Fox News host Martha MacCallum pressed Abbott on how the latest jobs report showed that the surge in migrants has helped increase payrolls and “keep a lid on consumer prices.” He pushed back against MacCallum’s remark, instead saying the boost in the U.S. economy can be attributed to Texas, not immigrants.

“I’m going to give you some facts, Martha, that completely debunk that notion. For one, one reason why the U.S. economy is doing so well is because the Texas economy is doing so well. The gross domestic product economic growth in Texas is going twice as fast as the United States,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

New Labor Department data released Friday showed that the U.S. added 303,000 jobs in March — exceeding Wall Street expectations once again. Texas has the second-highest state population in the U.S. and had added 49,800 jobs in February, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

“We have the fastest growing economy of any large state in the United States. Job-wise, Texas ranks No. 1 for the most new jobs added. So our economy and our jobs are growing faster at the very same time, Martha, while illegal immigration into the state of Texas is going down,” Abbott said.

He continued to push back on the idea that immigration has helped the U.S. economy by noting that illegal immigration is down in Texas.

“Illegal immigration into Texas has gone down 72 percent because of the resistance that we’ve put up. It’s gone up, however, in the other border states. And so Texas is decreasing illegal immigration while at the very same time adding more jobs and growing our economy far faster than the entire country,” he added.