traditional definition of being in a recession. the second quarter gross domestic product g.d.p. shrank at annual rate of nine tenths of a percentage point. that s the second straight quarterly deficit and that checks the box, historically considered as recessionary. president biden says it s no surprise the economy is slowing down because of inflation. but he insists he has the nation on the right path and, quote: it doesn t look like a recession to me. the president also spent time today on a call with his chinese counterpart in a time increasing tension with communist china. white house correspondent peter doocy starts us off tonight live from the north lawn. good evening, peter. peter: good evening, bret. the numbers are right there in black and white. the u.s. economy shrunk for a second consecutive quarter. but, until large, well-respected groups, nonpartisan groups of economists issue some sort of a formal declaration that a recession is underway, then officials here
practice. that puts lives in the balance ends in cases it calls for extraordinary tactics and measures. amid more complaints about the u.s. giving up boot. the so-called merchant of death had dealings with dictators, rebels and militias around the world including reportedly the taliban. some say this deal sets a dangerous precedent. this is not a good trade. it s not the right path forward. still for supporters of griner facing a possible 10 years in russian president and whelan just two years into a 16-year sentence, president biden s dangerous deal is worth doing. it s a hard call and fortunately i m not the president of the united states. but if the president makes that difficult decision i would absolutely support paul s release. spokesperson for russian foreign minister lavrov said, in fact, he would consider secretary biden s request for that call when he had time.
that negotiations need to be without fanfare on president biden s offer to give back a notorious arms dealer in exchange for americans britney griner and paul whalen, senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot has the latest tonight. russian officials confirming today an offer has been made by the u.s. to swap wnba store griner and whelan for reportedly russian weapons traitor viktor bout. didn t say how close the sides are including whether russian foreign lavrov and blink ken proposed by blinken happened. they did complain the u.s. was talking too much. so issues are discussed without any such release of any information. normally the public learns about it when the agreements are already implemented. in fact, this proposal has been an offer for weeks now. the u.s. trying to pressure russian president putin to end what it wrongful detention. this is a horrifying