Democratic political strategist David Axelrod criticized President Biden’s economic messaging on Wednesday, arguing his pride may cost him the election.
Noting that the economy has improved in the post-pandemic era under Biden, the president’s claim that the hard days are behind the U.S. are off base, as polling consistently shows.
"I don't understand this. I don't understand all these months later. I thought that he spent $25 million mistakingly last fall touting Bidenomics and making the same argument that the president is making right here," Axelrod said during a panel discussion on CNN.
"It is absolutely true, the world was plunged into an economic crisis by the pandemic, and we've come back faster than any other country, and he's right about that," he continued. "But that's not the way people are experiencing the economy. They experience it through the lens of the cost of living. And he's a man who's built his career on empathy. Why not lead with the empathy?”
“I think he’s making a terrible mistake,” he added. “If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump that beats him, it may be his own pride.”
Axelrod with some tough words on Biden’s economic message in this interview: “why not lead with the empathy? I think he’s making a terrible mistake. If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump that beats him, it may be his own pride.” https://t.co/6ILoCxPpMh pic.twitter.com/ZRLFJpSJfK
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 9, 2024
A recent Reuters/Ipsos survey shows 41 percent of respondents trust Trump’s approach to the economy compared to 34 percent who said the same of Biden.