President Biden defended his administration by claiming that inflation was falling and that “red states” were messing up their economies.
Biden sat down with MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell for his final interview in office before officially leaving office on Monday. The two discussed a number of topics, including Biden's response to the economy and the threat of inflation.
The president dismissed criticism of his approach to tackling inflation, saying the alternative was job losses.
President Biden discussed a number of topics surrounding his administration with MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell. (Screenshot from MSNBC)
Liberal media praises Biden's farewell speech: 'Shocking down my spine'
Biden rejected warnings from economists like Larry Summers that his coronavirus relief spending would cause more inflation, saying, “The only way to deal with inflation is to create unemployment and a new recession.'' “It's about creating,” he said.
“But guess what? I was absolutely convinced. Give the American people half a shot. If you give them a chance, they'll step up and get the job done. Look what they did. . They made progress on every major initiative,” he said. Said. “I never believed that a soft landing was impossible. We did. Inflation is down to nearly 2% and there's a lot going on.”
The Labor Department announced on Wednesday. Inflation rose by 2.9% December's rate rose from 2.7% in November, marking the highest level since July 2024.
Biden went on to argue that red states are “failing” themselves and need more investment than blue states.
“And look, one more thing: Lawrence, I've gotten a lot of criticism, and rightfully so. We've invested more in red states than we have in blue states…There are two reasons. 1. One is, the red states have been really messed up in terms of the way their states have responded, “the way they've handled the economy and the way they've handled manufacturing, the way they've handled access to the supply chain,'' Biden said.
A new Fox News poll shows that a majority of Americans still rate the economy as either “fair” or “poor.” (Photographer: Ting Sheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to reports, Republican-led states It recovered much faster than blue states post-pandemic, like Florida and Texas.
For more information on media and culture, click here
A new Fox News poll on Thursday found nearly twice as many people think the Biden administration has made the economy worse, not better, 52% to 28%. Additionally, nearly all voters (89%) say they are extremely or very concerned about inflation, up from 83% at the beginning of Biden's term.
Inflation rose 2.9% in December, up 0.2% from November, according to the Labor Department. (eye stock)
70% of voters say the economy is in bad shape, and 6 in 10 Democrats agree that the economy is in only fair or bad shape.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
FOX News' Dana Blanton contributed to this report.
