Biden defends inflation policies in final interview, says ‘red states have really screwed up’ their economies
President Joe Biden has defended his administration, insisting that inflation has fallen and “red states” are screwing up their economies.
Biden gave his administration’s final interview before officially leaving office on Monday, with MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell. The two discussed a number of topics, including Biden’s handling of the economy and the threat of inflation.
The president has dismissed criticism of his approach to combating inflation, claiming the alternative is unemployment.
President Biden discusses the many topics surrounding his administration with MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell. (Screenshot from MSNBC)
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Biden has rejected warnings from economists such as Larry Summers that his COVID-19 stimulus spending will lead to more inflation, claiming that “the only way to fight inflation is to create unemployment and another recession.”
“But guess what? I absolutely believe that. Give the American people a chance. If you give them a chance, they’ll step up and get the job done. Look what they’ve done. They’ve stepped up in every major endeavor ,” he said. “I never believed we couldn’t have a soft landing. We had a soft landing. Inflation was almost down to 2 percent, and a lot of things happened.”
The U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday that inflation rose 2.9% in December, up from 2.7% in November and the highest level since July 2024.
Biden went on to claim that red states have “screwed up” themselves and need more investment than blue states.
“Look, the other thing, Lawrence, I get a lot of criticism. It’s understandable. We invest more in red states than blue states…for two reasons. One, the way red states handle problems. Really screwed up.
In a new Fox News survey, a majority of Americans still rate the economy as “fair” or “poor.” (Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The report found that Republican-led states like Florida and Texas recovered much faster from the pandemic than blue states.
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A new Fox News survey on Thursday showed that nearly twice as many people, 52% to 28%, think the Biden administration will make the economy worse rather than better. Additionally, nearly all voters (89%) say they are either extremely or very worried about inflation — up from 83% at the beginning of Biden’s term.
According to the Labor Department, the inflation rate rose 2.9% in December, up 0.2% from November. (istock)
Seventy percent of voters say the economy is in bad shape, and six in 10 Democrats say the economy is only fair or poor.
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Fox News’ Dana Blanton contributed to this report.
