President Joe Biden took a defiant tone in his final interview before leaving office, sitting down with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell to defend his economic record amid widespread dissatisfaction with inflation and the state of the economy. Facing dismal approval ratings and a public frustrated by rising costs, Biden doubled down on his administration’s policies while shifting blame onto Republican-led “red states” for their economic struggles.
Despite public skepticism and warnings from economists like Larry Summers that his administration’s massive COVID stimulus spending would overheat the economy, Biden rejected the idea that his policies had fueled inflation. Instead, he claimed that avoiding job losses and a recession justified his approach. “The only way to deal with inflation is to create unemployment and another recession,” Biden said, dismissing critics. “I never believed we couldn’t have a soft landing. We had a soft landing. Inflation is down almost to 2%, a lot going on.”
However, Biden’s claim that inflation is under control comes as the Labor Department reported this week that inflation rose to 2.9% in December, up from 2.7% in November and marking the highest rate since July 2024. These numbers clash with Biden’s narrative of economic progress, especially as polls show a majority of Americans feel his policies have worsened the economy.
Biden’s approach to shifting blame wasn’t limited to economists or global conditions—he also targeted Republican-led states, claiming their own mismanagement was to blame for their struggles. “We’ve invested more in red states than blue states…for two reasons,” Biden said. “One, red states really screwed up in terms of the way they handled their economy and the way they handle manufacturing, the way they handle access to supply chains.”
Yet this claim flies in the face of reports showing states like Florida and Texas, led by Republican governors, recovered from the pandemic far more quickly than blue states like California and New York. Red states often led the way in job creation, population growth, and business activity while many Democrat-led states remained bogged down by stricter lockdowns, higher taxes, and sluggish recoveries.
This deflection comes as Biden faces harsh polling numbers on the economy. A new Fox News survey revealed that 52% of Americans believe the Biden administration has made the economy worse, compared to only 28% who think it has improved under his leadership.
Nearly nine in ten voters—89%—say they remain extremely or very concerned about inflation, a striking increase from the 83% who felt the same at the start of his term. Even among Democrats, six in ten agree that the economy is in fair or poor condition, underscoring widespread dissatisfaction even within his own party.
The disconnect between Biden’s claims and the public’s perception of the economy underscores why his presidency will leave office with such low approval ratings. Biden insists that his policies have produced a “soft landing,” but rising prices, strained family budgets, and stagnant real wages tell a different story to most Americans.
His attempt to shift responsibility onto red states only underscores the partisan divide and rings hollow to many voters who see stronger recoveries in Republican-led states compared to the struggles of heavily Democratic ones.
