Tipsheet

Joe Biden Downplays Chances of a Recession As He Touts Supposed Accomplishments

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 12, 2022 12:30 PM

During Tuesday's episode of "CNN Tonight," now anchored by Jake Tapper after Don Lemon got demoted to doing mornings, President Joe Biden gave an exclusive interview in which he gave many noteworthy remarks, including about his son Hunter, as Leah highlighted. He also downplayed chances of a recession, as Tapper raised the issue and reminded that "the economy remains top of mind, for voters."

Referencing concerns from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon that a recession is "likely" to happen in six to nine months, Tapper asked the president "should the American people prepare for a recession?"

Biden's response was to downplay the concerns, telling Tapper "no" and "look, they've been saying this now how--every six months, they say this." He went on to claim that "it hadn't happened yet" and "there's no guarantee that there's going to recession. I don't think there will be a recession." He did, however, acknowledge a recession is possible, though he claimed "if it is, it'll be a very slight recession. That is, we'll move down slightly." Biden would confirm to Tapper he was acknowledge "it is possible," but emphasized "I don't anticipate it."

It's worth pointing out that going by the standard of two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the United States is already in a recession. The Biden administration has sought to redefine the standard though, with help from friendly outlets and even Wikipedia. 

The economy is hardly in tip-top shape, and polls reflect voters' concerns with the state it's in. The president continued to tout the economy, though, helped by what he considers his administration's supposed accomplishments.

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When talking about how "families... have reason to be concerned," Biden offered to "look, think about what's happened. We have done more. We're in a better position than any other major country in the world, economically and politically. We are--we still have real problems. But look what we got done."

This included touting the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," which Biden referred to as "the Inflation Act." This is certainly a more accurate title, given that the legislation is likely to make inflation worse and do more harm than good in a variety of ways. 

Biden continued to emphasize "there's so much that we've done."

RealClearPolitics has Biden's approval on the economy at 38.1 percent, while 58.7 percent disapprove. Last month's poll from Fox News also highlighted how concerned voters are with the economy, specifically inflation. The poll also found that Biden had a 34 percent approval rating on the economy and a 29 percent approval rating on inflation. 

Earlier that day, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre similarly touted the supposed successes of the ARPA, when asked "if the President bears any responsibility with his policies for the inflation and what [IMF is] calling a stalling economy." This is despite how economists warned of how it contributed to record inflation, including Larry Summers, who served as the secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton and and as director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama. 

The White House similarly gaslit about ARPA last November when Jean-Pierre's predecessor, Jen Psaki, held the position. The White House also celebrated the passage of the legislation at its one-year anniversary in March. 

Since Tuesday's press briefing and the CNN interview aired, it was revealed on Wednesday morning that the Producer Price Index indicates prices increased 0.4 percent in September, and 8.5 percent in a 12-month time period. 

The CNBC report from Monday about the warning from Dimon was also promoted as a Twitter news "event" on Wednesday morning.