President Joe Biden made statements about his on Tuesday the economic heritage of the administrationdrawing a stark contrast between his four years in office and the past and future terms of President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden, speaking at the Brookings Institution, reflected on the economy he inherited from Trump and his administration’s work to help the country recover from COVID-19, arguing that his approach to the economy benefited more people than Trump’s spillover theory.
Biden criticized the Trump administration for having “no plan, no real plan, to get us through one of the toughest times in our nation’s history,” but said he learned one thing from Trump.
“You know, in my first two months in office, I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history. I also learned something from Donald Trump: he signed checks for people, $7,400, because we passed the plan and I didn’t. Stupid,” Biden said with a laugh, even though he got the total amount of stimulus checks wrong.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on December 10, 2024.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Asked about the comment at a White House news conference, Jared Bernstein, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said the president was “joking.”
With the country at a “tipping point” after the 2024 election, the president looked ahead to Trump’s next term, saying, “I pray to God that the president-elect throws out Project 2025.” He also called Trump’s tariff threat a “huge mistake.”
“By all accounts, the incoming administration is determined to send the country back into another economic cycle and another tax cut for the wealthy that will not be paid or, if paid, will have a real cost, again leading to large deficits or large cuts in basic programs, health, education , in veterans’ benefits,” Biden said.
“Furthermore, he appears determined to impose harsh universal tariffs on all imported goods brought into this country so that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than American consumers,” Biden added. “Who do you have. Do you think this is paying off? I think this approach is a big mistake. I think we’ve proven the approach to be a mistake over the last four years. But we all know in time, we all know in time what’s going to happen.”
Speaking about his administration’s actions, Biden praised its work to bring manufacturing back to the United States, increase semiconductor chip production, reduce health care costs and make major investments in infrastructure.
Biden also praised his team’s work to control inflation and raise wages, even as he acknowledged that “too many middle-class workers and middle-class families are struggling with high housing and food prices and the daily necessities of life,” he noted. the pandemic and the war in Ukraine due to rising inflation.
Biden asked to compare his record with Trump’s at the end of his successor’s term.
“President Reagan said, and I quote, ‘Facts are stubborn things. Facts are stubborn things.’ are Here are the facts, a set of benchmarks, if you will, by which we should measure our success or failure over the next four years: During my presidency, we created 60 million new jobs in America. Will the next president create jobs or, like Herbert Hoover, will he be the only president to lose jobs during his administration?’ asked Biden, who last year referred to his political rival as “Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump.”
President-elect Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on December 7, 2024 in Paris.
Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
“During my presidency, we are seeing the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in 50 years,” Biden added. “Will unemployment be higher or lower in the next four years?”
Closing his remarks, Biden praised the economy he was leaving behind — even after an election that showed many voters disagreed with his stance.
“I think the only way for a president to run America right now is to run all of America. And I think the economy that I’m leaving right now — and others can do better than me, I’m not saying I was perfect — but right now, the best economy in the world , the economy ends up being the strongest, and for all Americans who are doing better,” Biden said, adding that he is “not going anywhere” as he leaves the presidency.
