Kellyanne Conway condemned the media on Monday for ignoring good news about the American economy and focusing only on messages of gloom following growing warnings of a looming recession.

The White House counselor offered sarcastic praise for journalists who had finally begun reporting economic stories after a report revealed that more economists expect a downturn within the next two years.

“It’s nice to see the media finally covering the Trump economy,” she said. “You seem to cover it only when you can use the Sesame Street word of the day, ‘recession.’”

Hours earlier, the National Association for Business Economics said that some 38% of 226 economists it polled expected the contraction to begin next year. Another third expected a recession in the United States the following year, an increase from 25% in February. That means nearly three-quarters of economists expect a recession by end of 2021.

However, their prediction pushed back the timing, with only 2% expecting a recession this year as a result of interest rate cuts.

A day earlier President Trump shrugged off similar warnings, saying that consumer confidence was high.

[Related: Trump says he has 'no' fear China trade war could lead to recession]

"I gave a tremendous tax cut, and they're loaded up with money. They're buying. I saw the Walmart numbers, they were through the roof," he said.

"And most economists actually say we're not going to have a recession. But the rest of the world is not doing well like we're doing."

Conway said she knew which economists the president was consulting but declined to name them.

“The fact is the fundamentals of our economy are very strong, and you know it,” she told reporters. “We have more people working in this country right now than ever before in the nation’s history. We have more people coming off the sidelines coming back to work. We have people who don’t just have job availability, they have job security.”

A healthy economy is seen as crucial to the president's reelection hopes in 2020, but many economists fear a growing deficit and tariffs will tip America into recession.

Retail figures released on Friday showed consumer spending surging, which may help salve fears amid a slowdown in growth.

Last week, stock markets entered a period of volatility when the U.S. Treasury "yield curve" inverted for the first time since June 2007. The inversion reflects investors seeing bigger returns in the short term than the long term, suggesting a recession could be on the way.