President Joe Biden suggested that the U.S. economy was not in a recession Thursday despite new economic data showing that the U.S. has entered a recession.
Biden spoke at the White House, touting economic data showing a growing labor market and some new investments. Biden also advocated for the passage of the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act in Congress, claiming that both would boost economic growth.
“That doesn’t sound like a recession to me,” Biden said, wrapping up his comments and leaving the podium without taking questions.
Joe Biden says that the economy is doing perfect, says "That doesn't sound like a recession to me," and then leaves without taking questions. pic.twitter.com/fzZmFEvqmE
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 28, 2022
On Thursday morning, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released data showing that the U.S. economy shrank for the second straight quarter, satisfying the traditional requirement of a recession.
Recently, the White House has argued that two straight quarters of falling GDP does not necessarily define a recession and that only the Bureau of Economic Analysis can declare an official recession.
Biden’s remarks at the White House follow a statement saying that the U.S. economy is “on the right path” that he released earlier after the release of the GDP report. The Federal Reserve and the Biden administration have struggled for months to tame runaway inflation that accelerated to 9.1% in June.
“Coming off of last year’s historic economic growth – and regaining all the private sector jobs lost during the pandemic crisis – it’s no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation,” Biden said in the statement.
“But even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure,” he added. “Our job market remains historically strong, with unemployment at 3.6% and more than 1 million jobs created in the second quarter alone. Consumer spending is continuing to grow. Earlier this week, I met with the Chairman of SK Group from Korea, just one of the companies investing more than $200 billion in American manufacturing since I took office, powering a historic recovery in American manufacturing.”