President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks at the Economic Club of Washington D.C. on Thursday, where he is expected to tout progress on the issue during his time in the Oval Office while stopping short of declaring victory, White House officials said.
The remarks come as Biden is rounding out his more than five decades-long career in Washington and less than 50 days before a presidential election between his vice president, Kamala Harris, and predecessor, former president Donald Trump, in which the economy is poised to be a top concern for voters.
Biden on Thursday will use the moment to remind Americans of his economic accomplishments in office, including investing funds to restore infrastructure, creating clean energy jobs, facilitating the construction of new and expanded CHIP factories and capping drug costs for seniors, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told reporters on a call. At the same time, the president, Zients said, will emphasize the need to lower housing and grocery costs and make child care and healthcare more affordable for all Americans.
“The President will lay out how we build on the progress that we've made across these three and a half years and what's at stake as we move into this new phase of the economy,” Zients told reporters.
For months, polls have shown a significant portion of Americans disapproving of Biden’s handling of the economy. Trump has sought to use the surge in inflation that occurred during Biden’s time in office -- but has since come down -- as a key line of attack on Harris.
“The president knows this is no time for a victory lap, which is why he will talk about the work ahead,” Zients said. “Every single day, the president and vice president push on what more can be done to make the economy stronger, create more jobs and, importantly, lower costs.”
Zients described the main goals of Biden and Harris going forward as bringing down prices, investing in all of the country and keeping America “the safest and most secure nation to invest” and maintaining rule of law.
Inflation has come down from a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022 to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, not far above the Fed’s 2% target. And Biden’s remarks on Thursday will come one day after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers.
“The President's speech marks an important milestone,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard told reporters. “[Wednesday’s] actions send a clear signal that inflation has come back down, interest rates are coming down, and the focus now is on sustaining the important gains on employment and incomes.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday told reporters that Biden will also seek to contrast his economic agenda with that of the GOP.
For her part, Harris has unveiled a set of economic policy proposals that include a ban on price gouging in the grocery and food industries, down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers and tax breaks for small business start-ups.
In a break from her current boss, Harris is backing a tax of 28% on long-term capital gains for households with an annual income of $1 million or more. Biden included a 39.6% rate in his proposed budget, while still calling for a higher rate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.