Thanks, Trump! California Consumer Confidence Hits 9-Year Highs

epublican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally at the San Jose Conv
Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

Consumer confidence indicators have hit nine-year highs in California following Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 presidential inauguration, even though Trump lost the state by staggering margins.

In an article headlined “California confidence nears 10-year high after Trump takes office,” the Orange County Register reports:

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for California rose in January to its highest level since May 2007 and was 10 percent higher than the index average for all of 2016.

The Conference Board survey found Californians rated current economic conditions as the second best in nine years. Only December 2016 scored higher. And California’s outlook for the economic future drew the highest rating since the index started in 2007.

The article notes that Gallup also measured California’s consumer confidence at high levels — the second-highest among all states in the nation at the end of 2016.

As Breitbart News’ Chriss Street has written, Orange County — long a bastion of conservative politics in the Golden State, and a traditional Republican stronghold — actually voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Street argues that the state invested heavily in economic incentives in the county in an effort to push the electorate towards Democrats.

California has emerged as the epicenter of nationwide protests against the new Trump administration, beginning on the day after his inauguration and continuing with protests against his executive order on immigration.

Protests turned violent last week at the University of California, Berkeley, where anti-Trump activists prevented Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus. The demonstrators spilled over into the streets around the campus, vandalizing local banks and stores.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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