WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday the American people are “really, really down” after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging gasoline prices that are slamming family budgets. But he stressed that a recession was “not inevitable” and held out hope of giving 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 that he inherited and the lingering psychological scars caused by a pandemic that disrupted people’s sense of identity. He bristled at claims by Republican lawmakers that last year’s COVID-19 aid plan was fully to blame for inflation reaching a 40-year high, calling that argument “bizarre.”
GOPUSA Editor’s Note: Please keep in mind that this is a mainstream media story. The source of the story is in the dateline. We publish it for the purpose of informing our readers and providing an opportunity to discuss it. What is GOPUSA? Read our About Us page to find out.
As for the overall American mindset, Biden said, “People are really, really down.”
“The need for mental health in America, it has skyrocketed, because people have seen everything upset,” Biden said. “Everything they’ve counted on upset. But most of it’s the consequence of what’s happened, what happened as a consequence of the COVID crisis.”
That pessimism has carried over into the economy as record prices at the pump and persistent inflation have jeopardized Democrats’ ability to hold on to the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Biden addressed the warnings by economists that fighting inflation could tip United States into recession.
“First of all, it’s not inevitable,” he said. “Secondly, we’re in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation.”
As for the causes of inflation, Biden flashed some defensiveness on that count. “If it’s my fault, why is it the case in every other major industrial country in the world that inflation is higher? You ask yourself that? I’m not being a wise guy,” he said.
Related Story: Biden gets testy, falsely claims inflation in ‘every other major industrialized country’ higher than US
The president said he saw reason for optimism with the 3.6% unemployment rate and America’s relative strength in the world.
But restoring confidence so far has eluded Biden, whose approval ratings have been in steady decline as he has lost support among Democrats and has little evidence to show that he could restore a sense of bipartisan normalcy to Washington.
Biden’s Oval Office is filled with the portraits of presidents who faced crises that have imperiled the country, and the president acknowledged there were parallels to his own situation. A picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt hangs over his fireplace, a place of prominence because the historian Jon Meacham told Biden that no president had come into office with the economy in such dire circumstances. There is also a painting of Abraham Lincoln, who became president with a nation brutally divided and on the verge of the Civil War.
Yet Biden’s remedy is not that different from the diagnosis made by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979, when the U.S. economy was crippled by stagflation. Carter said then the U.S. was suffering from a “crisis of confidence” and “the erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.”
The president said he wants to endow the U.S. with more verve, fortitude and courage.
“Be confident, because I am confident we’re better positioned than any country in the world to own the second quarter of the 21st century,” Biden said.
Biden’s bleak assessment of the national psyche comes as voters have soured on his job performance and the direction of the country. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to a May poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier.
Overall, only about 2 in 10 adults said the U.S. is heading in the right direction or that the economy is good, both down from about 3 in 10 in April. Those drops were concentrated among Democrats, with just 33% within the president’s party saying the country is headed in the right direction.
Biden said Republican social policies were contributing to public anxieties. He suggested GOP lawmakers could face consequences in the midterms if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, possibly removing national protections for abortion access. Voters will consider the “failure of this Republican Party to be willing” to respond to “the basic social concerns of the country,” the president said.
The president outlined some of the hard choices he has faced, saying the U.S. needed to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine in February even though tough sanctions imposed as a result of that war have caused gas prices to surge, creating a political risk for Biden in an election year. He called on oil companies to think of the world’s short-term needs and increase production.
Asked why he ordered the financial penalties against Moscow that have disrupted food and energy markets globally, Biden said he made his calculation as commander in chief rather than as a politician thinking about elections.
“I’m the president of the United States,” he said. “It’s what’s best in the country. No kidding. No kidding. So what happens? What happens if the strongest power in NATO, the organizational structure we put together, walked away from Russian aggression?”
Biden spun out the possibility of chaos in Europe if an unimpeded Russia kept moving deeper into the continent, China was emboldened to take over Taiwan and North Korea grew even more aggressive with its nuclear weapon ambitions.
Biden renewed his contention that major oil companies have benefited from higher prices without increasing production as much as they should. He said the companies needed to think of the world in the short term, not just their investors.
“Don’t just reward yourselves,” he said.
Consumer prices have jumped 8.6% over the past year, the steepest rise in more than 40 years. Republican lawmakers have said that Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from last year kick-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 became vaccinated. Still, Biden acknowledged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s contention that the spending had a limited inflationary effect.
“You could argue whether it had on the margin a minor impact on inflation,” he said. “I don’t think it did. And most economists do not. But the idea that it caused inflation is bizarre.”
Still, high inflation has created a conundrum for Biden. He prioritized bringing back millions of jobs and has seen the unemployment rate return to close to pre-pandemic levels. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday increased its benchmark interest rate, in hopes of slowing the economy and pulling inflation down to its target rate of 2%.
The tightening of Fed policy has caused financial markets to slump and led many economists to warn of a potential recession next year. The president encouraged Americans to stay patient.
“They shouldn’t believe a warning,” he said. “They should just say, ‘Let’s say let’s see which is correct.’”
The president is still trying to steer his domestic agenda through Congress, after an earlier iteration last year failed to clear a 50-50 Senate. Biden said “I believe I have the votes” to lower prescription drug prices, reduce families’ utility bills with tax incentives and place a minimum tax on corporations. He said his plans would lower expenses for many Americans, though the measure would be scaled back from earlier intentions for an expanded child tax credit, 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 bring down the cost for working folks.”
And then, in acknowledgement of the political restraints he faces, Biden added, “I can’t get it all done.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
“the president emphasized the battered economy that he inherited” ????
Huh???
This corrupt, demented FOOL F… Joe Biden believes what he is being told to say by his masters, the treasonous, destructive, socialist Democrat Party. 🙁 🙁 🙁
In case Biden and those who voted for him haven’t noticed, we are already in a recission and are running full speed toward a depression!
It appears this is what Bien followers wanted and voted for. They got what they wanted, the rest of us got ……!
We are already in a recession and headed at full speed into a depression of biblical proportions, the only way out is to put all the oil workers back on the job, put all those he put out of work back on the job, stop trying to sell this green deal that is going to utterly destroy the country in very short order, . If the biden monster wants alternative energy sources for cars instead of only looking at electric he can also look at hydrogen power that is cheap very available and you can go a long way on it, you can also produce it yourself.
what he inhereted was GREAT. HE has taken less then 18 months to utterly RUIN IT.
And the seeds of that ruin were sowed in the first three hours of his holding office (I will not refer to him as President), when he got writer’s cramp signing all those Executive Orders reversing the successful policies and Executive Orders signed by President Trump that made us effectively energy independent, an exporter of oil to allies, and everyone enjoying more money in their pocket at the end of the year despite the infringements of the COVID lock down mandates.
Four years of hard work, which was also producing an unforeseen breakout of Peace and Acceptance in the Middle east, an effort that would have given any other President World recognition, and Peace Awards…But with a flick of a pen, Biden ended it all. And he is was so proud. Then. Now he’s angry over the fact his numbers are low and people are “…telling lies…” about him.
No one is as blind as he who cannot ( or will not) see.
He can see. HE JUST REFUSES TO acknowledge what he is seeing.
“As for the causes of inflation, Biden flashed some defensiveness on that count. “If it’s my fault, why is it the case in every other major industrial country in the world that inflation is higher? You ask yourself that? I’m not being a wise guy,” he said.”
Each country’s situation is due to the specific factors directly affecting them. You aren’t being blamed for global inflation—only for US inflation. You inherited a strong economy—not a battered one. You have made reckless and unjustified decisions that are crippling America.
It isn’t Trump’s fault. It isn’t the Republicans’ fault. You have made very poor decisions—you own them. Your string of Executive Orders has sabotaged everything positive that Trump had initiated. The blame lies squarely on YOU.
“I’m the president of the United States,” he said. “It’s what’s best in the country.” The first part of that statement is an outright lie because you stole the election. As for the second part—your actions do not match your words.
Were gonna have a Recession because he did get it done!!
Part of me fears we are already IN SAID recession.
We are heading for a depression and it is going to be a monster of one.
“I can’t get it all done” (copied from the article’s title). Hey Slo Joe, how about get just one think done? Good start.
the “one thing is” keeping Hunter out of prison. Have you heard the uproar over the content of Joe’s daughter’s diary? YIKES!
wow–have not heard so much poop since herbert hoover promised a chicken in every pot and 2 cars in every garage-
and then proceeded inundate america in the great depression-
or obama calling his depression a recession-
biden is scum and has always been scum
FJB–you simpleton–
you inherited a country that was on auto pilot-
a thumping economy-
lowest unemployment in 75 years ( way over 100 years for poc)
energy independence-
the highest and most feared military on earth-
treaties of peace in the arab nations-
a new treaty with the US and CANADA and MEXICO
A border wall under construction and a very restricted invasion from aliens-
Food prices reasonable –
wages reasonable-
and a lot of other good things going on-
all you had to do was sit on your duff filling your depends and eating your ice cream –
ONE BAD THING–THE omicron virus created by fauci and china at the behest of the democrat party
but even then Trump was instrumental in getting vaccines in record time to fight it and you are over pushing
it even at this late date-while china and fauci keep creating new variants off of the virus-
and you reversed all the good that trump did and now you are destroying America-
Only problem with the vaccines is they don’t WORK like they told us they would. Same with the boosters, you can still get that China Virus. Dr. Howdy Doody Fauci is a great example on how well it worked.
YET THEYY ARE still pushing the vax as if it was gods gift to man.
he can not even find his depends underwear
what a loser/can’t take the blame for any of the idiotic moves this complete moron has committed/he should worry about his own family–2 drug addicted children/and a stupid sister/makes a guy wonder–was there ever a smart bidumb?
Let’s begin next year with forcing biden to do right by the citizens first before illegal invaders. Will save billions.
COMMENTsure any from any other country gets priority. when are we going to show that we the people should be given top consideration.instead of being lied to and forgotten. there is only so much we can take. he has manged to break the hair in a camels back.still spew how well ge had one for us WHEN ,WHERE, AND HOW?
HELL will freeze over, before Congress as a whole, let alone just joe, eve swears to take care of AMERICANS OVER Illegals…