[Trump’s chief economic adviser said “external” factors may hinder economic growth and deficit goals] September 29th, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said that the U.S. economy is currently moving towards strong growth, but some “external” factors may prevent the Trump administration from achieving the growth target of at least 3%. Hassett told an event at the Economic Club of New York on Monday that economic growth "should be around 4%, not 3%" given rising productivity and wages in the United States. He said this was his "baseline forecast, which assumes no interference from the outside world." When talking about the fiscal outlook, Hassett hinted that some complex factors may hinder the realization of Bessant's goal of reducing the fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP. Asked whether the deficit is expected to fall to 3 percent by the end of Trump's term, Hassett said: "It basically depends on whether there are some 'force majeure' factors that prevent achieving that goal."