President Joe Biden traveled to Maine on July 28 to champion his economic agenda and highlight the accomplishments of his “Bidenomics” vision.
The president remains keen to tell Americans that his policies are creating jobs and a “manufacturing boom” in communities such as Auburn, even as recent polls indicate that voters continue to give Mr. Biden low marks on the economy.
As he made his economic case in Maine, the president also took aim at Republicans for their impeachment threat.
“Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. Maybe they’ll decide to impeach me because it’s coming down. I don’t know,” Mr. Biden said.
The president delivered his speech at Auburn Manufacturing Inc., a textile factory that’s experiencing double-digit growth as a result of his administration’s policies.
Mr. Biden reiterated that he’s rebuilding the economy “from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.”
“Inflation is now at its lowest point in two years. Wages are up after being adjusted for inflation,” Mr. Biden said.
Headline inflation has gradually come down from a high of more than 9 percent in June 2022 to 3 percent last month.
Mr. Biden also took a victory lap after the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on July 27 that the U.S. economy grew by 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2023, beating market estimates.
He said Bidenomics is working, despite earlier predictions of a recession. The gross domestic product report shows a roughly 8 percent increase in business investment.
He then boasted about creating more than 13 million new jobs, including about 28,700 in Maine and 800,000 new manufacturing jobs nationwide.
“I’m not here to declare victory on the economy,” Mr. Biden said. “We have more work to do. We have a plan for turning things around. Bidenomics is just another way of saying restoring the American dream. Forty years of trickle-down economics limited that dream to the very top.”
During his visit to Maine, the president also signed an executive order to prioritize the policy of “invent it here, make it here.” The order is expected to benefit U.S. workers and communities and enhance global supply chain resilience, according to the White House.
The executive order seeks to promote transparency, reduce red tape, and streamline reporting requirements in the federal research and development investment process.
Biden Gets ‘Poor’ Rating
While Mr. Biden continues to tout his economic agenda, there remains widespread discontent over his policies. A recent Rasmussen poll found that a majority of likely voters (51 percent) gave him a “poor rating” on his handling of the economy.While he claims credit for record job growth, most voters believe that the economy has worsened under Bidenomics. The poll shows that only 29 percent of voters feel that the U.S. economy has improved in the past year, while 56 percent believe that it has deteriorated and 13 percent believe it has remained stable.
Furthermore, 93 percent say economic issues will be “important” in the 2024 presidential election, with 71 percent believing that they'll be “very important.”
“If it is true, as many economists believe, that the full effects of tightening are only felt between 12 and 18 months after the fact, then last year’s large-scale interest-rate hikes are yet to truly work their way through the economy.”
