Even the DNC Realizes That Jobs Report Is Bad, But Its Spin Is Worse

President Joe Biden received another disastrous jobs report on Friday morning, as Katie covered earlier. While it was predicted 442,000 positions would be created, there were just 199,000, with the prediction being wrong by more than half.

A statement from DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison after the report focused on unemployment, which has dropped down to 3.9 percent. "This is great news and another reminder that President Biden's economic plan is working," the statement read in part. "Wages are up, everyone who wants a job can get one, and one of the fastest economic recoveries in history continues to power ahead. Over the last few weeks alone, the Biden-Harris administration has taken significant steps to drive down the price of meat and poultry, dramatically ease supply chain bottlenecks, and ensure Americans can safely celebrate the holiday season with loved ones," the statement continued.

He also tweeted his spin on the report.

Folks, let’s get one thing straight: the news that today’s unemployment rate has hit 3.9% is HISTORIC. It’s the fastest single-year decline in unemployment in our country's history.

That’s the Biden Boom.
— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) January 7, 2022

That's certainly one way to look at it, but not what the headlines are saying. As Katie included in her reporting, CNBC's takeaway was on how "Hiring falters in December as payrolls rise only 199,000."

And there's plenty more where that came from. Here are some more examples provided by Rep. Jim Banks' (R-IN) office.

NBC: “Far below expectations”
CNN: “Jobs disappoint”
Forbes: “The December Jobs Report was Disappointing”
Fox News: “Dismal jobs report”
Daily Mail: “US employment report misses expectations AGAIN”
WSJ: “December slowdown”
POLITICO: “Businesses are struggling to fill jobs”
The Hill: “Disappointing 199k jobs”
US News and World Report: “Well below expectations”
Reuters: “Dollar falls after US jobs report”
Market Insider: “US stocks slip on December jobs report”
MarketWatch: “Dow slips as stock market wobbles after U.S. adds weaker-than-estimated 199k jobs last month”

He's not wrong. Polls show that Republicans have an advantage over Democrats on the economy, with a Wall Street Journal poll released last month showing the advantage at double digits. For instance, by 46 to 35 percent, voters trust Republicans over Democrats to "rebuild the economy," and by 44 to 26 percent trust Republicans over Democrats to "get inflation under control."

As he is on most issues, Biden is underwater on the economy overall. The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for polls conducted from November 30 to January 4 shows that the president has an average of 40.1 percent approval on the issue and 56.0 percent disapproval.

The statement didn't end there, though. Even Harrison acknowledged that this is hardly all good news. His response was to try to resurrect the Build Back Better Act, despite how Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) came out against it last month, effectively killing the bill.

"But Democrats are clear-eyed that there is work to be done to continue to lower costs for families, and President Biden's Build Back Better agenda is the best way to do that, while continuing our historic economic recovery. While President Biden and Democrats deliver for the American people, Republican lawmakers have done everything in their power to not only block progress, but they are even cheering against the economic recovery," Harrison closed his statement by claiming.

When it comes to Build Back Better, the latest news is that the bill is still dead and negotiations aren't going anywhere.

The subject of POLITICO'S Friday morning playbook addressed how "Biden finds a new Manchin whisperer," who, in this instance, is Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

Here are some key takeaways:

Two senior Senate sources said that Warner, one of Manchin’s closest friends and his former housemate, will be involved in any future BBB talks. Manchin has said publicly that he’s not negotiating with the White House. Privately, he has been even more pessimistic.
“He’s not in the mindset of moving forward,” said a source close to Manchin.
The West Virginia Democrat has complained about a lack of “effective outreach” or “reset” by top White House aides, and blamed them for making the BBB negotiations too personal. Manchin has spoken to STEVE RICCHETTI,Biden’s Hill whisperer, once since Christmas. But he’s still angry with chief of staff RON KLAIN, who he believes told press secretary JEN PSAKI to “unleash the dogs” in a heated White House statement after the senator announced on “Fox News Sunday” that he was a “no” on the bill.
...
“A wide range of members are working on Build Back Better,” said White House spokesperson ANDREW BATES, “but Sen. Warner is not negotiating on behalf of the White House.”
However they want to characterize the effort, they’re still far from having Manchin on board. “I don’t think they’ll be able to coax him back into BBB,” the source close to Manchin told Playbook. “He’ll listen to Mark Warner, but he won’t do what he wants.”
...
Still, Manchin seems unmoved. And meanwhile, the White House has discussed repackaging BBB by breaking off a piece or pieces of policy to revive the talks, a senior Senate source said, adding that negotiations are still ongoing.