“This is Joe Biden’s recession,” the Republican National Committee (RNC) said on Thursday following the negative economic report, showing the U.S. economy contracting by 0.9 percent in the second quarter.

“Biden can lie and deflect blame all he wants, but that will not alleviate the pain Americans feel every time they fill up their gas tanks, go grocery shopping, check their retirement savings, or balance their budgets,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement on Thursday following the news of two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

“Biden and Democrats are responsible for our shrinking economy, and they’re only trying to make it worse,” she added.

Her statement follows the economy contracting 1.6 percent in the first quarter, after economists expected 0.3 percent growth in the second quarter.

Gross Domestic Product shrank by 0.9 percent in the second quarter. While the White House is attempting to redefine what comprises a recession — most consider it to be two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth — Republicans across the board are making the declaration, regardless of the coming determination from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

As Breitbart News detailed:

The economy contracted by 1.6 percent in the second quarter. Many Americans consider two straight quarters of recession to be the marker of a recession. Economists, however, rely on the determination of the National Bureau of Economic Research to say when a recession starts. The NBER has a more complex and subjective definition of recessions and typically does not declare a recession until several months after it has begun.

“The Democrats still have not learned their lesson,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said on Thursday.

“They think you can spend and tax your way to prosperity and get yourself out of a recession. Well, the numbers are in, second quarter in a row. We have seen our economy shrink. You cannot tax and spend your way out a recession,” she added.

Just four percent of Americans consider the economy to be in “excellent” condition, a recent poll from TheEconomist/YouGov found.