Biden: ‘We’re Not Gonna Be In A Recession,’ More Than One-Third of Americans Believe Otherwise

  |  
Jul 26, 2022

Joe Biden and his administration don’t want the American public to believe their own lying eyes.

Yesterday the White House changed the definition of the word “recession” in anticipation of a Thursday GDP report showing more growth declines. And the President said later in the day that “we’re not gonna be in a recession” when asked about the topic by Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy – WATCH:

“Mr. President, we’re getting GDP numbers on Thursday,” Doocy called out. “How worried should Americans be that we could be in a recession?”

“We’re not gonna be in a recession, in my view,” Biden replied.

“The [un]employment rate is still one of the lowest we’ve had in history,” the President continued. “It’s in the 3.6 [percent] area. We still find ourselves with people investing. My hope is we go from this rapid growth to steady growth, so we’ll see some coming down. But I don’t think we’re going to, God willing, I don’t think we’re going to see a recession.”

Of course, the White House is scrambling with damage control, as Thursday’s report is expected to signal a recession based on the standard definition. GDP numbers will likely show growth declines for a second straight quarter, and even Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that this trend spells recession based on the “common definition” of the term.

The Biden administration is clearly pushing for a broader definition of the r-word, one that is far different than the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research’s, to avoid politically damaging news later this week.

This updated definition can be seen in a blog post put out by the White House that reads: “While some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle.”

“Instead, both official determinations of recessions and economists’ assessment of economic activity are based on a holistic look at the data—including the labor market, consumer and business spending, industrial production, and incomes,” the WH said.

“Based on these data, it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year—even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter—indicates a recession,” the blog post continued.

Further emphasizing the disconnect between the White House and everyday Americans, Bloomberg reported earlier this month that “more than one-third of Americans believe the economy is now in a recession.”

Who are you going to believe?

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