Despite positive economic news recently and the upcoming first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the White House has not been able to convince most consumers that a growing confidence about the economy can be traced to Biden’s policies, polls show. The president had hoped to use this summer to take his message across the country, highlighting growth in manufacturing and repeated announcements of new projects spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act.
“You can expect us to highlight more groundbreakings of projects, more ribbon-cuttings and opportunities to show the American people how these investments and jobs are reaching their communities and their neighborhoods,” said Natalie Quillian, White House deputy chief of staff, previewing Biden’s stops this week in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. “This is a critical element of our strategy.”
That strategy, though, has run up against the whirlwind of legal drama surrounding the former president, who has faced a trio of indictments over the past five months and could see more charges later this month. Allies of Biden, who has so far declined to comment on Trump’s legal predicament, are hoping the president’s focus on his economic sales pitch will create a favorable contrast with the spectacle around Trump, who is currently leading the Republican presidential field by a wide margin.
During his stay in Arizona, Biden is expected to designate a vast area near the Grand Canyon as a national monument to safeguard it from uranium mining, according to people familiar with the plans.
He’ll visit New Mexico on Wednesday “to highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act is unleashing a clean-energy manufacturing boom,” according to a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the president’s plans. The official said private companies have announced more than $500 billion in clean energy and manufacturing projects and investments over the past year.
Biden will cap his trip with a visit Thursday to Utah, where he will visit a Veterans Affairs facility to mark the first anniversary of the Pact Act, which expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president will also attend campaign fundraisers during his trip, a reminder of the fast-approaching 2024 presidential race.
Polling indicates that Biden’s efforts over the past year to celebrate economic successes have struggled to gain traction with the public. A CNN poll released last week showed that encouraging signs about the economy and inflation have not yet given Biden much of a boost. Roughly half of Americans believe the economy is in a downturn or getting worse, with only 1 in 5 seeing the economy as improving, the poll found.
Just over one-third of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, while nearly two-thirds disapproved. Overall, Biden’s approval numbers have remained relatively low throughout most of his presidency, but the White House publicly dismisses much of the polling.
“Polls don’t always tell the full story,” said Quillian, noting that consumer confidence has risen to a two-year high. “We’ve seen lots of indicators about how this agenda is working for the American people.”
Still, another poll from last week offered a warning that the political split screen may not be working out the way Democrats would like, possibly because the charges have prompted some Republicans to rally around Trump. A New York Times/Siena College poll, conducted before Trump’s latest indictment, found Biden and Trump tied at 43 percent in a prospective matchup.
Biden and his allies hope the recent positive economic news will eventually shift the political landscape.
“Unemployment near a record low, and 13.4 million jobs added since I took office: that’s Bidenomics,” Biden posted on Twitter, now known as X, after new jobs numbers were released Friday showing the jobless rate at 3.5 percent. “We’re growing the economy even as inflation is at its lowest level in more than two years. It isn’t an accident. It’s results.”
Biden officials including Vice President Harris, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu plan to attend a series of groundbreakings and events this week highlighting Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda.
Meanwhile, Biden’s predecessor continued to compete for the public’s attention as he took aim at his latest indictment.
“IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Friday, an apparent reference to his case. That post was cited by prosecutors over the weekend as they asked the judge to impose firm rules on the conduct of the defendant and his team.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to file additional motions this week, at the same time Biden is hopscotching the country to promote his economic record.
A sampling of coverage on the five major Sunday talk shows offers an indication of which developments will capture the attention of the media and the public. Trump’s lawyer John Lauro appeared on all five shows on Sunday, publicly defending the former president on Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN.
No officials from the Biden administration were booked on any of the programs to talk about the economy.
Timothy Puko contributed to this report.
