The White House on Monday will launch an effort to convince voters that his economic plan dubbed “Bidenomics” is working to boost the lives of middle-class voters.
As part of that strategy, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will announce more than $40 billion in funding for high-speed internet projects across the country.
It is the first of several events this week to pitch the campaign narrative that Mr. Biden’s economic policies are working. He is pivoting to a campaign message focused on his economic agenda, which is a sore spot for voters amid soaring inflation.
“The president came into office with a long-held and fundamentally different economic vision — and he was determined to turn the page on the failed trickle-down policies of the past,” senior Biden advisers Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon wrote in a memo released Monday. “Two years later, there is clear and compelling evidence that Bidenomics is both a winning economic strategy that is delivering results, and an approach that is strongly supported by the vast majority of the American people.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden will visit Chicago to give what the White House billed as a “major address” on his economic vision. On Friday, the president will deliver remarks about his efforts to lower costs for Americans. He will argue, according to his economic advisers, that his policies of higher taxes and targeted government spending is working better than the low-tax, reduced spending agenda pushed by Republicans, which he characterizes as “failed trickle-down economic policies.”
Mr. Biden needs to sway public opinion about the economy, which is always a top campaign issue.
Public confidence in Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy remains low in a time of high inflation and a difficult housing market. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released month found that only 33% of adults approve of Mr. Biden’s economic performance and just 24% said national economic conditions are in good shape.
The average mortgage interest rate is hovering around 6.9% — the highest in a decade and a challenge for many homebuyers. Recent data shows inflation is easing, though the annual rate is still higher than when Mr. Biden took office.
Inflation dropped to 4% in May compared with a year earlier, down sharply from a 9.1% peak last June. The inflation rate was 1.4% in January 2021 when Mr. Biden took office. Core inflation rose 0.4% in May after steady monthly increases averaging 0.4% in 2023. Core inflation remains up 5.3% from a year ago.
The memo released by the White House argues that the U.S. economic recovery is proceeding faster than the economic growth of other countries whose economies have actually shrunk, including the United Kingdom and Germany.
“Better pay and other Biden Administration policies have helped put middle-class Americans into stronger financial position than they were in pre-pandemic — despite the global challenge of inflation,” the memo said. “Americans have higher net worths and higher real disposable incomes today than they did before the pandemic.”
At the White House on Monday, Mr. Biden will announce that $40 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law will be used for setting up high-speed internet in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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