WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden highlighted the differences between “Bidenomy” and “MAGAnomy” in a speech Thursday afternoon, ratcheting up criticism of Republicans ahead of a potential government shutdown.
“They tell you what they’re against. What are they there for? It’s like they want to keep it a secret. I don’t blame them,” Biden said, referring to the Republican Party. “Well, today I’m going to talk about your plans.”
During his speech, which lasted more than 30 minutes, Biden lashed out at Republicans’ economic vision, saying the budget they proposed this summer would cut taxes for the wealthy, cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and raise costs for the families.
“This is part of a concerted new push not only to define what the president’s economic agenda is and why it is working, but also to further call out Republicans for economic policies that are deeply politically unpopular and would undermine the economic progress they we’re accomplishing.” a senior White House official said before the speech.
The speech in Largo, Maryland, comes in the shadow of a possible looming government shutdown if Congress doesn’t decide how to fund it before the money runs out at the end of September. Biden first used the term MAGAnomics to attack the Republican Party’s economic policy, according to the official.
“His plan, MAGAnomics, is more extreme than anything the United States has seen before,” Biden said. “Just a few months ago, they went further than anyone ever has, threatening to default on the debt.”
Biden also criticized Donald Trump’s record on the economy. As usual, she referred to the former president as “my predecessor” and not by his name.
“My predecessor promised to be the most employed president in history. Well, it didn’t really work out that way. He lost 2 million jobs over the course of his presidency – 2 million,” Biden said. The number of jobs lost under the Trump administration was actually closer to 2.7 million, according to Federal Reserve data.
Ahead of her speech, White House senior adviser Anita Dunn sent a memo arguing that the contrast between Bidenomics and MAGAnomics “will define the fall budget debates.” The memo would be sent to congressional Democrats and other allies, the official said.
“Understandably, House Republicans have been reluctant to promote the MAGAnomics Budget, but the White House will spend much of this fall doing it for them,” Dunn said in the memo.
Dunn also criticized the Republican Study Committee’s proposed budget with an argument that mirrors Biden’s speech, stating that the plan would cut taxes for the wealthy, cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and “raise costs for families.” workers.” The committee presented a budget proposal in June that aims to cut spending by $16.3 trillion and taxes by $5.1 trillion over 10 years.
RSC representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the committee had rejected similar criticism in its budget proposal.
“Once again, despite the Biden administration’s false claims, the RSC budget does not cut benefits or increase premiums for Medicare beneficiaries,” the document said. “It actually lowers the premiums for these seniors.”
Biden, at a campaign reception Wednesday, made his first comments on the GOP-led impeachment inquiry that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced a day earlier. The president alleged that Republicans launched the impeachment efforts because they want a government shutdown.
“I don’t really know why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can say is that they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,” Biden said at the campaign reception.
Biden’s approval rating stands at around 42%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from earlier this month. The survey also showed that 23% of respondents believed the economy was the most important issue facing the country. Biden’s approval rating rose slightly from the Reuters/Ipsos poll released in August, which found 40% of respondents approved of the president’s performance.
