Biden rebukes GOP for doom-and-gloom expectations in economic speech

Economy ‘can’t slow down now,’ Biden warns in push for infrastructure bills

President Joe Biden delivers an address on the economy at the White House. (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

President Joe Biden took aim at his GOP critics during a speech centered on the economy, while touting his administration’s own accomplishments ahead of the six-month anniversary of his inauguration.

During an address from the White House on Monday that occurred a day before the halfway point of his first year in office, the president took credit for America’s recovery from a massive economic slump brought on by Covid-19 and related state restrictions on public life.

“We’ve gone from 60,000 jobs [created] per month to 60,000 jobs [created] every three days,” Mr Biden said.

“That’s the fastest growth at this point, I’m told, of any administration in history,” he continued.

He also mocked his Republican critics, though not by name, for predicting economic chaos or the establishment of a socialist stronghold were he to be elected over former President Donald Trump.

Addressing those predictions, Mr Biden said: “Before I took office there were a lot of folks making some pretty bold predictions about how things would turn out.”

“Folks, it turns out capitalism is alive and very well. We’re taking steps to make sure it works the way it needs to,” he added.

The moment was the second time in just a few days that Mr Biden has publicly identified himself as a capitalist, the first being when he called communism a “failed system” during a press conference while talking about recent unrest in Cuba.

The president won election last year after defeating a large field of primary opponents including his most serious challenger, Sen Bernie Sanders, who famously identifies as a democratic socialist.

The primary was seen as a battle between two ideological sides of the Democratic Party, though it has done little to quell Republican criticism of the party, which by and large paints most, if not all, Democrats as socialists.

During Monday’s speech, Mr Biden also issued another push for the passage of his next economic package; two bills forming an infrastructure plan, one of which has support from a number of GOP senators while the other is set to pass through the budget reconciliation method if it can attain sufficient Democratic support.

“Our economy has come a long way over the last six months,” said Mr Biden, adding: “It can’t slow down now”.