White House claims Americans are in a 'better position' poll responses trends now
Outgoing White House economic advisor Brian Deese declared the state of the economy 'strong' on the eve of President Biden's State of the Union speech – but fended off questions about a series of polls where Americans registered their dissatisfaction about their own economic standing.
'The state of the economy is strong. You see that in the lowest unemployment rate in 53 years,' he told reporters at the White House.
Deese also talked up the resilience of the U.S. economy compared to other nations, but still had to contend with an ABC News / Washington Post poll where 41 per cent of respondents said they were not as well off as when Biden took office, and another survey where even Democrats raised doubts about Biden seeking reelection.
'And you know, it is the case that if you go around the world, if you talk to heads of state, CEOs, other leaders, they will tell you that the United States really is better positioned than almost any other country,' said Deese, who heads the National Economic Council. 'That the opportunity to invest in the United States as so many people are enthusiastic about. And that bodes very well for the economy not only in the very short term' but in the medium term.'
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre listens as National Economic Council Director Brian Deese speaks about the economy. He talked up record low unemployment figures, and got asked repeatedly about polls showing many Americans say they are worse off since Biden took office
The administration continues to trumpet a monthly report that the nation added 517,000 jobs in January, with an unemployment rate of just 3.4 per cent.
But Americans continue to register their dissatisfaction, and many do not want Biden to run again.
The ABC / Washington Post poll had just 16 per cent who said they were better off than before Biden took office. The number who said they were about the same was 42 per cent.
Dees, a skilled number cruncher, was a bit off when he tried to parry a question about the poll.
'So I think I think the poll that you just said it's actually consistent so about two-thirds of Americans say that their circumstances are better than than before,' he said.
A reporter later reminded him that the he was essentially combining the 'about the same' figure with those who said they were better off.
Deese set the stage for President Biden, who will try to sell the economy and his accomplishments Tuesday night
'And I think that it is the case that if you look at the kind of key measures of basic economic security: Do I have health insurance? Do I have $400 in the bank in case my car breaks down or I have another emergency expense? Am I late or delinquent on a credit card bill am I facing foreclosure? If you'd look at all of those measures on average, American households are in a better position than they were before the pandemic hit, and that's true for that lower income quartiles as well.'
Deese also commented on the looming debt limit crisis, which has the potential to rattle financial markets.
'This bedrock idea that the United States has met all of its financial obligations for its existence as a country isn't something that anybody should be using as a bargaining chip. It's not a negotiable item,' he said.
Hours later House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared 'Defaulting on our debt is not an option.' even as he called for negotiating to try to force government spending increases.
Biden is planning to use the prime time address to trumpet his economic accomplishments, even as the polls registered concerns from within his party about whether he should seek reelection.
Only 37 percent of Democrats say they want Biden to seek a second term, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. This is a sharp decline from the 52 percent who said the same weeks before the 2022 midterms.
Taking all voting-age Americans into consideration, only 22 percent say that Biden should run again, down 7 percent from the same question asked in October 2022.
Democratic voters who spoke with AP said they are concerned about Biden's age and increasingly prevalent gaffes and potential health concerns.
Meanwhile, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released earlier this month also found that 62 percent of Americans think Biden has accomplished 'little or nothing' or at least 'not very much' during his presidency so far.
Democrats are growing increasingly against a reelection from President Joe Biden, noting his age, health, coughing, gait and gaffes as reasons why someone younger should seek office
Only 37% of Democrats say they want to see Biden run for a second term in a new AP-NORC poll released Monday, which is a sharp 15% decline from the same poll taken just weeks before the 2022 midterms
Only 36 percent say Biden has accomplished a 'great deal' in his more than two years in office.
Follow-up interviews with AP-NORC poll respondents show that many think Biden, who is the oldest U.S. president ever, feel his age and declining health could be a liability.
Many who said they want a younger president and focused-in on Biden's coughing, his gait and frequent gaffes.
'I, honestly, think that he would be too old,' said Democrat voter Sarah Overman, 37, of Raleigh, North Carolina. 'We
