President Joe Biden speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Washington.
Highlight
- American people are really, really down after a turbulent 2 years with coronavirus: Joe Biden
- Recession was not inevitable and stifled hope of giving nation a sense of greater confidence: Biden
- We are in a stronger position to control inflation than any other country in the world: US President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden said on Thursday (June 16) that the American people are “really, really down” after two years with the coronavirus pandemic, instability in the economy and now rising gasoline prices that are straining the family budget. are. But he insisted a recession was “not inevitable” and hoped to give the country a greater sense of confidence.
Speaking to the Associated Press in a 30-minute Oval Office interview, the president emphasized the battered economy he inherited and the psychological scars caused by a pandemic that had disrupted people’s sense of identity. He dismissed claims from Republican lawmakers that last year’s COVID-19 aid plan was solely to blame for inflation hitting a 40-year high, calling that argument “bizarre.”
As for the overall American mentality, Biden said, “people are really, really down.”
“The need for mental health in America has increased because people have seen everything upset,” Biden said. “Everything they have counted on the upset. But much of it is the result of what happened, what happened as a result of the COVID crisis.”
That pessimism has taken hold at the pump as record prices in the economy and persistent inflation threaten Democrats’ ability to hold on to the House and Senate in midterm elections. Biden addressed warnings from economists that fighting inflation could push the United States into a recession.
“First of all, it’s not inevitable,” he said. “Second, we are in a stronger position than any other country in the world to overcome this inflation.”
Biden on inflation:
For inflationary reasons, Biden has shown some defensiveness on that count. “If it is my fault, why is it that inflation is higher in every other large industrialized country in the world? You ask yourself this? I am not a wise person,” he said.
The president’s statement appears to be about rising inflation around the world, not necessarily that countries had higher rates than US annual inflation in Japan, for example, has risen in recent months, although it is still at 2.4%. The annual rate is, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The president said he saw cause for optimism with the 3.6% unemployment rate and the relative strength of the US in the world.
But restoring confidence has so far eluded Biden, whose approval rating has steadily declined as he has lost support among Democrats and there is little evidence to show he is trying to restore a sense of bipartisan normalcy in Washington. can do.
Biden’s Oval Office is filled with portraits of presidents who have faced crises that plagued the country, and the president acknowledged there were parallels to his own situation. A photo of Franklin Delano Roosevelt hangs above his fireplace, a prominent landmark as historian John Meacham told Biden that no president came into office with economy in such dire circumstances. There is also a painting of Abraham Lincoln, who became president with a nation that was brutally divided and on the verge of civil war.
Yet Biden’s measure is no different from a diagnosis made by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979, when the US economy was crippled by a stalemate. Carter said the US was then suffering from a “trust crisis” and that “the erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy America’s social and political fabric.”
The president said he wants to give America more courage, patience and courage.
“Be assured,” Biden said. “Because I’m convinced. We are in a better position than any country in the world to own the second quarter of the 21st century.”
Biden’s bleak assessment of the national psyche comes as voters have soured on the performance of his work and the direction of the country. According to a May poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, only 39% of American adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, which fell from a negative rating just a month earlier.
Republican social policies were contributing to public concerns: Joe Biden
Biden said Republican social policies were contributing to public concerns. He suggested that GOP lawmakers could face consequences in the midterm if the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade reversed it, possibly removing national protections for abortion access. Voters would consider the “failure of this Republican Party to prepare for the failure of the Republican Party” to respond to “the country’s basic social concerns,” the president said.
The president outlined some tough choices, saying the US needed to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin in attacking Ukraine in February, even though tough sanctions imposed as a result of that war raised gas prices. which has led to a political formation. Threats to Biden in an election year He called on oil companies to think about the world’s short-term needs and ramp up production.
Asked why he ordered a financial penalty against Moscow, which has disrupted food and energy markets globally, Biden said he chose to take his position as commander-in-chief rather than a politician thinking about the election. calculated.
“I am the President of the United States of America,” he said. “It’s not about my political existence. It is about what is best for the country. No joke. No joke. So what happens? What if the strongest power, NATO, the organizational structure we put together, walked away from the Russian invasion? ,
Biden ruled out the possibility of chaos in Europe if an unarmed Russia continued to move deeper into the continent, China was excited to capture Taiwan and North Korea went even more aggressive with its nuclear weapon ambitions.
Biden reiterated his argument that major oil companies benefited from higher prices without increasing production as much as they should have. He said companies need to think not only of their investors but of the world in the short term.
“Don’t just reward yourself,” he said.
Consumer prices have risen 8.6% in the past year, the fastest increase in more than 40 years. Republican lawmakers have said Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package last year started a spiral of price increases.
The president said there was “zero evidence” for that claim, noting that other countries have endured higher prices as economies reopened and people vaccinated. Still, Biden accepted Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s argument that spending had a limited inflationary effect.
“You could argue whether it had a modest, modest effect on inflation,” he said. “I don’t think it did. And most economists don’t think it did. But the idea that it caused inflation is bizarre.”
Still, high inflation poses an enigma to Biden. He prioritized bringing back millions of jobs and saw the unemployment rate close to pre-pandemic levels. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, in hopes of slowing the economy and pulling inflation down to a target rate of 2%.
Fed Policy:
The tightening of Fed policy has plunged financial markets and many economists have warned of a possible recession next year. The president encouraged Americans to be patient.
“They should not believe a warning,” he said. “All they should say is: ‘Let’s see. Let’s see which one is right.'”
The president, still trying to steer his domestic agenda through Congress, failed to get the Senate approval 50-50 after an earlier repetition last year. Biden said “I believe I have the votes” to lower drug prices, reduce households’ utility bills with tax incentives, and impose a 15% minimum tax on corporations. He said his plans would reduce spending for many Americans, though the measure would be cut short by earlier intentions for expanded child tax credits, universal pre-kindergarten and other programs.
“I’m going to be able to get, God willing, the ability to pay for prescription drugs,” Biden said. “There’s more than one way to reduce costs for the people who do the work.”
And then, acknowledging the political obstacles he faces, Biden said, “I can’t do it all.”
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