President Joe Biden said Wednesday on “PBS NewsHour” that the United States would not have an economic recession this year or next year.
Partial transcript as follow:
WOODRUFF: And I want to ask you about that because the picture you painted last night: unemployment, record low — the growth, the economy, what is it? Inflation is coming down, incomes are rising. And yet when you when you mention the polls, when you look at the polls, CBS poll, 64% of Americans think the economy is in bad shape. There’s an NBC poll, 71% think the country’s on the wrong track. Why the disconnect?
BIDEN: Because the polls don’t matter anymore. You got to make, what, 40, 50 calls and on a cell phone to get someone to answer a poll? Even the pollsters, you talk to them. Ask them what they think about this. Look.
WOODRUFF: So you don’t think it’s your policy?
BIDEN: Oh, I know the policy. By the way, if you ask the same things. Do they support the rebuilding infrastructure America? Overwhelmingly support. Ask anybody. Do they support the CHIPS and Science Act where we’ve attracted $300 billion in investments? We invented these chips. They’re coming back to America. We’re going to be the leaders again. When you ask them about whether or not they think they’re paying too much, too much for drug prices. Overwhelmingly, yes. So it’s all just like, look, people went through hell the last several years, the last five years in the pandemic. We lost a million people, dead. And so every time you turn on the news, are you reporting any positive news, I’m not I’m not meaning you personally, editorially. So you turn on the television and everything’s down. And so people understandably are down.
WOODRUFF: So when people at the Gallup Poll saying most Americans think next year the economy is going to be bad, do you think there’s going to be a recession?
BIDEN: No.
WOODRUFF: This year?
BIDEN: No. Or next year. From the moment I got elected, how many of the experts are saying within the next six months is going to be recession?
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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