President Joe Biden advised The Related Press on Thursday that the American persons are "actually, actually down" after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility within the financial system and now surging gasoline costs which might be hitting household budgets.
He mentioned a recession isn't inevitable and bristled at claims by Republican lawmakers that final 12 months's COVID-19 support plan was totally accountable for inflation reaching a 40-year excessive, calling that argument "weird."
As for the general American mindset, Mr. Biden mentioned, "Individuals are actually, actually down."
"They're actually down," he mentioned. "The necessity for psychological well being in America, it has skyrocketed, as a result of folks have seen all the pieces upset. All the things they've counted on upset. However most of it is the consequence of what is occurred, what occurred as a consequence of the COVID disaster."
Chatting with the AP in a 30-minute Oval Workplace interview, Mr. Biden addressed the warnings by economists that the US could possibly be headed for a recession.
"Initially, it is not inevitable," he mentioned. "Secondly, we're in a stronger place than any nation on this planet to beat this inflation."
The president mentioned he noticed purpose for optimism with the three.6% unemployment fee and America's relative power on this planet.
"Be assured, as a result of I'm assured we're higher positioned than any nation on this planet to personal the second quarter of the twenty first century," Mr. Biden mentioned. "That is not hyperbole, that is a truth."