President Joe Biden is free to campaign while his likely GOP rival, Donald Trump, remains trapped in a Manhattan courtroom facing what most legal experts on the left and right have called ridiculous charges involving “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. But that doesn’t mean Biden’s campaigning is going to be effective, especially after a damning new report has dropped.
After years of campaigning for “Bidenomics” to boost the economy, the Biden administration recently announced that the inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2024 was lower than expected, leading to a new round of criticism for Biden.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers shared data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on X, presenting a chart illustrating the performance of “real GDP.” The figures indicated that real GDP grew by 1.6% in the first quarter on an annualized basis, falling short of expectations, which were projected at 2.5%.
Today’s report—the advance estimate of first quarter GDP in 2024—shows that real GDP grew by 1.6% in Q1, below expectations of 2.5%. Growth in Q1 primarily reflected contributions from consumption and private fixed investment. 1/ pic.twitter.com/verrExDrq8
— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) April 25, 2024
The underperformance in GDP growth was attributed to several factors, including consumer spending growth falling below expectations, along with declines in inventories and net exports. Additionally, the personal consumption expenditures price index, a crucial measure of inflation, showed a 3.4% annualized rate growth, which could potentially deter Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
“These GDP numbers were shocking,” said Fox Business anchor David Asman. “We were expecting a 2.4% growth. The actual came in at 1.6 — a huge loss — and with rising inflation — even the Fed is admitting that inflation is not only sticky, it seems to be going in the wrong direction — that adds up to stagflation.” Also, the economy is one of the top issues among concerns for Americans heading into the 2024 election, along with mass illegal immigration.
FOX BUSINESS: "These GDP numbers were shocking. We were expecting a 2.4% growth. The actual came in at 1.6–a huge loss–and with rising inflation…that adds up to stagflation."
"That's something we haven't seen since the 1970's." pic.twitter.com/78Ks3Rjq0X
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) April 25, 2024
Biden’s statement on Thursday regarding the GDP numbers seemed detached from reality as it emphasized a long-term perspective rather than addressing the recent economic challenges, despite the fact that the latest quarterly real GDP rate marked the lowest in over a year.
“Today’s report shows the American economy remains strong, with continued steady and stable growth,” Biden said. “The economy has grown more since I took office than at this point in any presidential term in the last 25 years — including 3% growth over the last year — while unemployment has stayed below 4% for more than two years.”
While Biden insisted congressional Republicans “have no plan to lower costs,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) released a statement arguing that Americans are struggling because of the low- and no-growth policies Biden has enacted as president.
“Everywhere you look, companies are laying off employees and families are being stretched to the max by Biden’s raging inflation crisis and bad economy,” Scott said. “That’s why we are seeing job reports that month after month show a growth in part-time jobs while full-time jobs decline.”
Former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP nominee, also responded to the weak numbers. “As you probably have heard…the GDP is all the way down to 1.6% and it’s heading south…gasoline is going way up, energy costs are going way up…this is Bidenomics–it’s catching up with him,” he said in Manhattan.