White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued Thursday on “The View” that the economy is transitioning into “stable and steady growth” amid fears of recession.
Co-host Sara Haines told the press secretary that many Americans do not agree with President Joe Biden’s remarks that the economy is on the “right path.” The president made the comment Thursday in response to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showing the economy shrank in two consecutive quarters. Jean-Pierre replied that the country’s economy is in a transitory position toward “steady growth.”
“The president understands the anxiety people feel about the economy, about inflation, the costs that they’re seeing around them,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s why he has put forward a plan to really attack inflation and bring those costs down.”
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The press secretary went on to argue that the job market tends to decrease during a recessionary period, but currently, employment is rising. She cited the 2.7 million jobs created in the first six months and 1.7-2 million jobs added in the last quarter, including the unemployment rate, which stands at 3.6%. (RELATED: Economist Dismantles Biden Admin’s Attempt To Redefine Recession With One Chart)
“And that’s why what we’re seeing is that we are in a transition. We had this strong economic growth because of the work this president has done in the past 18 months and now what we’re seeing is a transition into stable and steady growth. But we get it, we get that people are feeling a little bit more pain,” she said.
Jean-Pierre also mentioned the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to reduce the costs of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals. The president and the administration are advocating for Congress to pass the legislation, she told the hosts.
The White House has continuously pushed back against claims the country is in a recession. Two consecutive quarters of declining GDP has been used as a rule of thumb to define a recession for decades, economist Julius Shiskin declared in 1974. However, administration officials have argued that the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) looks to other indicators, including consumer and business spending, the labor market, industrial production and incomes.