U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, June 6, 2023, alongside Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s Cabinet is set to wrap up a two-week tour Thursday, touting the administration’s economic achievements ahead of the first debate between the incumbent Democratic president and former President Donald Trump.
In a memo announcing the intensive operation, White House officials said they had planned 29 public events featuring more than a dozen administration officials to promote Biden’s economic policies in the 10 days leading up to Thursday’s debate.
The events took place across 15 states, including key battleground states like Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Chair of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also participated in the roadshow, along with 15 other Cabinet members and senior administration officials.
Domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden on Wednesday unveiled a new plan to temporarily lower prescription drug copayments for seniors by penalizing drug companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.
“Seniors have been fully exposed to Big Pharmaceutical’s skyrocketing prices. Not anymore,” White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Yellen visited Minnesota and announced a new $100 million affordable housing fund.
“Thanks to President Biden’s economic plan, the U.S. economy is strong and resilient, and we have experienced strong economic growth in recent quarters,” she said in her speech on Monday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tours Ford Motor Co.’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center with Linda Chang, right, chief engineer for the vehicle, before delivering her economic speech in Dearborn, Michigan, on Sept. 8, 2022. The center produces the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle.
Jeff Kowalski | AFP | Getty Images
“The labor market is remarkably healthy, unemployment is low, real wages are rising, and working-age Americans make up a larger share of the labor force than before the pandemic.”
During the tour, administration officials have emphasized arguments about the economy that Biden and his campaign have made repeatedly in recent months and that are likely to be brought up again in Thursday’s debate.
“The president has asked big corporations to pass on savings to consumers, secured historic cost-cutting legislation, directed his Cabinet to use every tool at its disposal to cut costs, and eliminated hidden junk fees from nearly every area of household finances,” Brainard said at an event hosted by the Urban Institute.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard listens to a question during an interview in Washington, DC, United States, Monday, November 14, 2022.
Andrew Haller | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The White House is trying to stoke economic pessimism among voters to counter Republican claims about inflation. Biden’s Weaknesses That’s in line with the Biden campaign’s own efforts in the polls.
But there is one key difference: While White House officials have shared positive news and developments they attribute to Biden’s economic policies, they have been careful to avoid mentioning Donald Trump or any other Republican candidate by name.
It will now be up to the campaign to remind voters how Biden differs from Trump, which the campaign said Wednesday. New Advertisement Contrasting their “rival economic visions,” he accused the Republican former president of lacking a plan to “support working families.”
White House press secretary Jeremy Edwards told CNBC the purpose of the tour was for officials to “showcase” Biden’s economic policies, as has been the case throughout the administration.
Edwards compared the past two weeks to other economic boosting operations launched by the Biden administration during its first term in office.
“Since President Biden took office, the administration has continued to meet people where they are to highlight the work we are doing on behalf of the American people,” Edwards said in a statement to CNBC.
In fact, Biden’s cabinet members A very similar two-week roadshow Following the State of the Union address in March.
Biden’s latest effort to exaggerate his economic victory is consumer Confidence has declined this monthThe Conference Board, a nonprofit business research group, said its economic sentiment index fell slightly to 100.4 in June from 101.3 in May, indicating that households felt a little worse about the economy this month than they did last month.
The Labor Department is scheduled to release weekly initial jobless claims figures on Thursday, just hours before the debate. The figures are for just one week, but could provide a last-minute boost to either Trump or Biden, depending on which way they rank. Updated estimates of U.S. gross domestic product are also due to be released on Thursday.
The candidates’ competing claims on the economy will be further tested on Friday morning when the Federal Reserve releases May data for the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge.
