With President Biden still floundering in the polls and the poor economy weighing them down like an anchor, Monday’s CNN News Central lamented Biden was forced to travel the country to “convince Americans” that their eyes and bank accounts were lying to them. The network tried to do its part in attempting to downplay the economic hurt average Americans who weren’t rich D.C./New York journalists were feeling.
Co-host Kate Bolduan noted Biden was “kicking off a multistate trip aimed at pitching his economic agenda and record of legislative accomplishments.” She lamented that “Bidenomics” was not getting a warm embrace by average Americans and that “recent data including new polling is showing that he does have some work to do to convince Americans that the economic outlook” was “improving because of his policies and for each individual voter.”
Bringing on White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond, Bolduan had a bit of a Freudian slip and said Biden was working “to convince Americans, right, that things are looking better and things are looking better because of our policies.”
“Our policies,” Kate?
Ignoring the fact that August marked the second anniversary of Biden’s disastrous, incompetent, and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, Diamond suggested the real reason to mark the calendar was that “August marks the one-year anniversary of several key legislative accomplishments of the President.”
“The Chips and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the Pact Act which focuses on veterans' benefits. And so, each of the stops is going to be focusing on those pieces of legislation,” he touted as he proceeded to help the administration sell itself to the American people (click “expand”):
The President, this evening, he heads to Arizona, where tomorrow he will hold an event focusing on the climate change portion of this, focusing on his efforts at climate conservation and climate resilience, talking about the fact that the Inflation Reduction Act has delivered the largest-ever investment in fighting climate change.
Then on Wednesday, he heads to the state of New Mexico where he will focus on the manufacturing portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy manufacturing in particular, but I think you can also expect to hear about the Chips and Science Act which invests in semiconductor manufacturing.
And then, of course, on Thursday, the President heads to the state of Utah to talk about that Pact Act which provides veterans benefits to those affected by burn pits and other toxic chemicals.
After pitching Biden’s so-called “accomplishments,” despite the Inflation Deduction Act doing the exact opposite, Diamond bemoaned, “the uphill battle that the White House faces as it tries to convince Americans that the economy is indeed doing better and that it is because of those various policies that we were just talking about.”
Diamond also ignored gas prices spiking again as he claims inflation was “slowing.” “63 percent of Americans still disapproving of the President's handling of the economy. A majority, a slim majority of Americans still believe that the economy is in a downturn,” he huffed.
He did share the White House’s belief that a positive consumer confidence report was “one silver lining.” “So, the White House believes that as Americans feel more confident about their personal finances, they’ll feel better about the overall economy and better about the President's handling of that economy,” he explained.
Bolduan ended the segment with a quick note that Biden has “a lot of work to do on this.”
CNN’s lamenting that average Americans aren’t bowing before President Biden on the economy was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from E-Trade and Red Lobster. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN News Central
August 7, 2023
9:28:26 a.m. EasternKATE BOLDUAN: Today, President Joe Biden is kicking off a multistate trip aimed at pitching his economic agenda and record of legislative accomplishments as the White House to voters. His first stop is in the battleground state of Arizona, followed by visits to New Mexico and Utah.
The administration calls it Bidenomics, you've heard them say that many times, but recent data including new polling is showing that he does have some work to do to convince Americans that the economic outlook is not just improving, but improving because of his policies and for each individual voter.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us from the White House this morning. He’s got much more on this. So, what is -- We know the goal is to get -- to convince Americans, right, that things are looking better and things are looking better because of our policies, but how is he going to highlight this? What's the plan here?
JEREMY DIAMOND: Yeah, Kate. Well, the central focus for the White House this month is highlighting the President's legislative accomplishments and tying all of that to the economy and the progress that the White House says is enduring in the economic outlook for the coming months.
And a big reason for that is because August marks the one-year anniversary of several key legislative accomplishments of the President. The Chips and Science act, the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the Pact Act which focuses on veterans' benefits. And so, each of the stops is going to be focusing on those pieces of legislation.
The President, this evening, he heads to Arizona, where tomorrow he will hold and event focusing on the climate change portion of this, focusing on his efforts at climate conservation and climate resilience, talking about the fact that the Inflation Reduction Act has delivered the largest-ever investment in fighting climate change.
Then on Wednesday he heads to the state of New Mexico where he will focus on the manufacturing portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy manufacturing in particular, but I think you can also expect to hear about the Chips and Science Act which invests in semiconductor manufacturing.
And then, of course, on Thursday, the President heads to the state of Utah to talk about that Pact Act which provides veterans benefits to those affected by burn pits and other toxic chemicals.
But the through line in all of this is going to be the impact on the economy and the uphill battle that the White House faces as it tries to convince Americans that the economy is indeed doing better and that it is because of those various policies that we were just talking about.
Look at this number, though, on economic approval, the President is under water still despite the slowing inflation, despite the fact that unemployment remains at a 3.5 percent low. 63 percent of Americans still disapproving of the President's handling of the economy. A majority, a slim majority of Americans still believe that the economy is in a downturn.
So, this is the challenge that the President faces and why you're going to be hearing him talk about those legislative accomplishments, try to tie it to this improving economy. Now, one silver lining that White House officials do see, the Michigan consumer sentiment which shows consumer confidence in the economy, that number in July was the highest it has been in two years.
So, the White House believes that as Americans feel more confident about their personal finances, they’ll feel better about the overall economy and better about the President's handling of that economy. Kate?
BOLDUAN: A lot of work to do on this.
