It's official -- data shows the US entered a recession in February while Trump pretended all was well

After months of watching the economic situation in the United States amid the coronavirus crisis, it has become clear that the United States entered a recession in February.

The New York Times reported Monday that the National Bureau of Economic Research that identifies downturns announced that February is when the moment began. It has been a key month in the coronavirus crisis that Democrats criticize President Donald Trump for not acting after it became clear that the pandemic was quickly spreading across the world.

The group "said that the economy hit its peak in February and has since fallen into a downturn, as pandemic-related shutdowns talked activity and brought an end to a record-long expansion — one that had lasted 128 months," said the Times.

The stock market began to tumble as the president promised that everything was fine. Still, the markets turned. Ultimately, Trump was forced to order a shutdown of the economy, resulting in over 40 million people out of work.

"While analysts often refer to recessions as two consecutive quarters of contraction, in the United States the NBER formally determines when they begin and end based on a range of factors, most importantly domestic production and employment," explained the Times. "Most economists expect that this recession will be both deep and short, with the economy rebounding as state economies reopen and the world figures out how to function amid the coronavirus pandemic."

Trump claimed in his State of the Union address that the U.S. economy was “roaring” and “the best it has ever been." He then said the nation was “moving forward" at an “unimaginable” pace. It defied the data then, and it certainly defies the facts looking back at February.

Read the full report from the New York Times.