Vice President Kamala Harris has positioned herself as the change candidate but has refused to separate herself from President Biden’s economic agenda, a risky plan on display Tuesday as the president highlighted “Bidenomics,” which has proved woefully unpopular with voters.
As Ms. Harris promoted “a new way forward” as part of her presidential campaign, Mr. Biden kicked off a series of events at the White House dubbed “Investing in America.” The president spoke with citizens who have benefited from his policies.
“We’ve had one of the most extraordinary periods of progress ever in the history of this country,” Mr. Biden said. “We’ve gone from an economic crisis to the strongest economy in the world, literally. A record 16 million new jobs, record small-business growth, a record stock market, a record high 401(k), and wages are up.”
Shortly after Mr. Biden spoke, however, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 600 points to begin September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped more than 3% amid concerns about a weakening economy.
Nowhere has Ms. Harris been trying to walk a tighter line than on the economy. The Democratic nominee has taken credit for some of Mr. Biden’s economic policies but has acknowledged “there’s more to do.”
In a CNN interview last week, Ms. Harris said Mr. Biden’s economic policies have achieved “extraordinary successes” but Americans deserve to “turn the page on the last decade.”
Democratic Party strategist Brad Bannon said a full embrace of Bidenomics could hurt Ms. Harris’ campaign. He urged her to take a more populist stance on the economy to distance herself from the president.
“It could undermine her message. That’s why I don’t like the term ‘Bidenomics,’” he said. “I like her aggressive policies on clamping down on food prices because it is different from what Biden proposed. Anything she can do to help her change argument is good, and talking about Bidenomics is going to hinder that.”
Voters have given Mr. Biden poor marks for handling the economy during most of his presidency. His economic approval ratings languished in the low 30% range since 2021 as inflation soared and voters soured on rising prices for groceries and other household goods.
Ms. Harris’ dual message of taking credit for some of Mr. Biden’s economic policies while distancing herself from others is reflected in polls. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released last month revealed that more voters trust former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, to handle the economy than Ms. Harris. The poll also found that the public overwhelmingly thinks Ms. Harris had limited influence on Mr. Biden’s economic policies, 64% to 33%.
Republican Party strategist Jimmy Keady said voters have already connected Ms. Harris to Mr. Biden’s economic policies. He predicted that voters would hold her accountable at the ballot box for inflation, which reached an annualized rate of 9% under the president’s watch in June 2022.
“By embracing [Biden’s] failed economic policies and worsening inflation, she has tied herself to the one issue that matters to all voters: the economy,” Mr. Keady said. “Just a few weeks ago, experts thought our economy was in free fall when the stock market had one of its worst performances. This is not an economy a candidate should want to tie themselves to.”
Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic Party strategist, disagreed. He said the administration’s policies remain popular, even though Mr. Biden does not.
“When you talk about the policies and take the personality out of it, you get a different response,” he said. “We’ve seen how the Bidenomics name can have an effect on how people really feel about what actually happened.”
On Tuesday, the Biden administration sought to change the narrative surrounding the economy.
Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, spoke at the White House event. He credited his city’s economic recovery to the Biden administration.
“We’ve exceeded pre-pandemic employment by over 17,000 jobs. Without a doubt, that is directly related to the Biden administration with its investments,” he said.
Alex Salter, a professor of economics at Texas Tech University, called Mr. Biden’s policies “a failure.” He said the administration’s rampant spending, increased regulations, and alleged price-gouging in the energy sector contributed to sky-high inflation.
“I don’t think the Biden administration was the primary culprit for inflation, but they did aid and abet it with rampant spending,” he said.
Ms. Harris’ economic vision calls for preserving Mr. Biden’s policies and for the federal government to play a more aggressive role.
She has called for the government to provide $25,000 in aid to first-time homebuyers to control the cost of housing, a $6,000 benefit for newborns and price controls on groceries.
Her plan will appeal to liberal voters.
Mr. Bannon, the Democratic Party strategist, hailed the proposals as a way to separate herself from Mr. Biden.
“My advice would be to push the envelope on economic policy like she did by proposing a cap on prices. She needs to be more aggressive on economic policy than President Biden,” he said.
Mr. Salter, however, warned that price controls could have dire consequences for the economy.
“Any freshman economics student can tell you that price controls lead to shortages at stores and quality decreases,” he said. “This is Economics 101, where the real world works exactly the way the textbooks propose. It’s a master class on what not to do.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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