President Biden is set to give remarks at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., on Thursday, during which he will give a “declaration of progress” a day after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates.
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients previewed that Biden’s speech is “not meant to be a declaration of victory, it’s meant to be a declaration of progress — significant progress.”
Zients highlighted that inflation and interest rates have fallen, while the unemployment rate has maintained its lowest sub-4 percent streak since the 1960s. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, which was its first reduction following a more than two-year fight against post-COVID-19 driven inflation. The new federal funds rate is 4.75 percent to 5 percent.
“The president has really led and written a new economic playbook for the country that invests in all of America, all parts of America, red and blue, and all Americans and that’s going to have an impact for decades to come,” Zients said.
“I think that the approach has proved them wrong,” he added, referring to economists who predicted a recession would hit.
The president’s speech on Thursday will stress that there is still more work to be done to lower costs, officials said, while many Americans still feel that the price of gas, groceries, housing and child care, among other areas, are too high.
White House officials argued that Biden’s speech comes at “an appropriate time to mark this milestone.”
The consumer price index (CPI), which is an inflation measure that tracks a handful of goods and services, fell to 2.5 percent in August, within striking distance of the Fed’s 2 percent target.
“The president took a number of very important actions throughout his administration… that has contributed to that and it’s important to mark a moment where Americans will be getting relief,” officials said.
The economy is often ranked as the most important issue to voters this cycle, and Vice President Harris has balanced in her campaign touting the economic progress of the Biden administration while acknowledging that more work needs to be done.
“The president knows this is no time for a victory lap, which is why he will talk about the work ahead,” Zients previewed to reporters, adding that Biden will talk about “what’s at stake as we move into this new phase of the economy.”
National economic adviser Lael Brainard added, “no one’s declaring victory. The focus now has to be on sustaining the gains we’ve seen.”
The White House has stressed that Biden wants to maintain the independence of the Federal Reserve and reiterated that “vow” in previewing his speech after the bank’s rate cuts.
“He has kept that vow, and we continue to think that that is absolutely essential to solid economic management. That’s a big contrast to his predecessor who repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve on his watch,” officials said, referring to former President Trump.
