Media

‘That’s Not True’: Doocy Challenges Biden Adviser On Recession Claims

[Screenshot/White House press briefing]

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
Font Size:

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy challenged White House Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese on claims that the nation is not in a recession Tuesday.

Doocy asked Deese if the White House can be certain that the nation is not in a recession period, given that economic advisers falsely claimed inflation would be temporary.

“The president’s economic advisers were telling us last year that inflation was going to be temporary. That’s not true,” he said. “Now the president’s economic advisers are saying there’s not going to be a recession. Are you sure?”

“Well, let me just say this: we look at a range of data, we assess that data, and we lay it out for ourselves and for the president,” Deese said. “But you don’t have to take our word on this.”

“But the president does, right?” Doocy said.

“We also look at what outside analysts are doing, we look at every type of analysis that you could imagine,” Deese continued.

The adviser cited City Group, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan all concluding that economic indicators do not appear recessionary. Deese quoted a J.P. Morgan report saying “it is inconceivable for a labor market that has generated close to 500,000 jobs average monthly gains for the past six months to be in a recession.”

Deese added that while there are advisers inside the White House analyzing global economic conditions, they also look to outside analysts for answers. (RELATED: Reporter Presses Jean-Pierre On The Definition Of Recession)

“We analyze the data, we look at the data, we understand the significant uncertainties that exist in the global economy, including issues of war, including issues of supply chains. But we also look at what other analysts and outside observers are, and certainly I know that’s something that you and your outlets do as well.”

The White House has pushed back on the traditional definition of recession that defines it as two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Deese told CNN’s John Berman that this is not in technical terms a recession Monday.

“The technical definition considers a much broader spectrum of data points. But in practical terms, what matters to the American people is whether they have a little economic breathing room, they have more job opportunities, their wages are going up — that has been Joe Biden’s focus since coming into office,” he said.

Dating back to World War II, a recession has been declared after negative growth was detected in two consecutive quarters. However, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.” The agency looks at various indicators including industrial production, employment statistics and inflation-adjusted income.

The White House argued in a Thursday blog post that the NBER committee’s recession-indicator has indicated “strong growth in the U.S. economy” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement further argued that economic activity is also determined by consumer and business spending, the labor market, industrial production and incomes.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is scheduled to release the second quarter GDP growth of 2022 on Thursday, which will indicate whether the nation has faced positive or negative growth.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel