President Joe Biden is eager to take full political ownership of the U.S. economy — a reflection of the White House belief that inflation is fading, job growth is solid and voters need to know about it.
But polling has consistently shown the economy to be a weak spot for Biden’s reelection hopes. Just 33% approve of his leadership on the issue, according to a May survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.
For much of his presidency, Biden has blamed high gasoline prices, painfully rising food costs and other cost-of-living expenses on the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He said those two factors were beyond his control as inflation hit a 40-year high last summer and crushed the his approval ratings.
In a Chicago speech on Wednesday, Biden will begin a new effort to actively convince a worried public that the U.S. economy is not heading for recession but actually thriving because of his leadership. For him, there’s a happy confluence of the coming 2024 reelection campaign and a favorable turn in recent economic data, leading the White House to believe that public messaging about “Bidenomics” will help to rally Democratic voters going into next year.
The message is not a new one, though the White House believes it bears repeating so that it soaks in. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Monday’s news briefing that the president’s upcoming remarks would be a “cornerstone” speech and part of a larger administration-wide effort.
Read more at APnews.com
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