The American people are “personally in good shape” and the United States has “the strongest economy in the world,” President Joe Biden told CNN host Erin Burnett in a rare sit-down interview touting his administration’s economic record.
In the wide-ranging interview on May 8, the president was provided with various facts about the current economic landscape, from real (inflation-adjusted) income being down since January 2021 to housing costs doubling over the past three years.
During some of former President Donald Trump’s and President Biden’s time in office, these issues have weighed on consumer confidence and voter sentiment and have resulted in low approval ratings for the incumbent’s “Bidenomics,” a nickname for his economic plan.
The president shrugged off these statistics, arguing that polling data show most Americans think they are “personally in good shape” despite their pessimism regarding the broader economy.
President Biden said he has created millions of new jobs, allowing the public access to good-paying employment opportunities.
“When I started this administration, people were saying we’re going to have a collapsing economy,” President Biden said of the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have the strongest economy in the world.”
The president also dismissed the smaller-than-expected first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) reading of 1.6 percent, alluding to the positive reaction in the financial markets.
“No president has had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation,” the president said. “It was 9 percent when I came to office. But, look, people have a right to be concerned.”
The annual inflation rate was 1.4 percent in January 2021 and peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022. Cumulatively, the consumer price index (CPI) has climbed by approximately 19 percent over the past three years. The CPI rose to a hotter-than-expected 3.5 percent last month and is expected to remain unchanged when the next inflation report is released next week.
“They have the money to spend,” President Biden said in response to Ms. Burnett’s reporting that grocery prices are up by 30 percent.
He also alleged that corporate greed and shrinkflation—the shrinking of products in size or quantity while retaining the same price—were some of the leading causes of higher prices at supermarkets and in the broader marketplace.
“It angers [shoppers] and angers me that you have to spend more,” President Biden said. “We’ve got to deal with it, and that’s what I’m working on.”
Polling Prefers Trump Economy Over Biden
The economy and inflation are still the most important issues for voters and are likely to determine who they will support as their president in November, according to a new ABC News–Ipsos study.
“It’s also true right now, Mr. President, that voters, by a wide margin, trust Trump more on the economy. They say that in polls,” the CNN host said.
The same ABC News–Ipsos poll reported that more Americans trust former President Trump to handle the economy and inflation than President Biden.
Similar opinions are found in other surveys.
The numbers show that 46 percent of U.S. adults report having “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in former President Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy. By comparison, only 38 percent say the same for President Biden.
Biden: Trump Didn’t Build That
President Biden has pushed back against the assertions that his predecessor had a strong economy.“He’s never succeeded in creating jobs, and I’ve never failed,” President Biden told CNN. “I’ve created over 15 million jobs.”
The current administration has repeatedly touted this statistic, although many experts contend that it is a misleading number because it includes jobs that returned after the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a Wisconsin event announcing a $3.3 billion investment from Microsoft to construct a new artificial intelligence facility, President Biden slammed his presumed 2024 opponent for failing to build anything, including an electronics factory for Taiwan’s Foxconn in 2018.
“Trump came here with your senator, Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel, promising to build the eighth wonder of the world,” he said in remarks on May 8.
“Are you kidding me? Look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it. Foxconn turned out to be just that—a con. Go figure.”
The White House has routinely told the American people that more work needs to be done, urging voters to help the administration finish the job.
Are these pleas working?
Heading into the November election, economic observers and voters will compare the presidents’ records on issues such as inflation and real disposable income per capita. It might boil down to the typical question at this point in the election cycle: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
