President Joe Biden is attempting to frame the success of Bidenomics against the backdrop of “failed” MAGAnomics, but with recent reports of rising inflation, particularly driven by escalating gasoline prices in both July and the previous month, Republicans are openly embracing Biden’s comparisons.
Biden recently reintroduced the term “MAGAnomics,” originally used by the Trump campaign in 2020, during an economic address at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland. During his speech, he once again highlighted America’s “robust economy” compared to other major nations and criticized his opponents for consistently attacking his plan without presenting their own.
Conversely, he claims that the Republican plan, which he states is unknown, is “more extreme than anything America has ever seen before.”
A White House official falsely stated, “Congressional Republicans’ MAGAnomics budget would slash taxes for the wealthy and big corporations; cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; and raise costs for hardworking families.” They attempted to claim that the American people overwhelmingly reject MAGAnomics, with its focus on trickle-down tax cuts and reductions in social programs. The White House spokesperson went on to highlight the popularity of Bidenomics, which they say emphasizes “investments in America” and “lower costs” for citizens.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has also joined in supporting Biden’s MAGAnomics talking points, demonizing Trump’s tax cuts, set to expire at the end of 2025, and criticizing the economic positions of this election cycle’s Republican presidential candidates.
The DNC commented, “2024 GOP candidates love Trump’s unpopular tax breaks for the wealthy so much that they’ve pledged to bring back and extend his MAGA tax scam at the expense of America’s middle-class families,” adding, “Republican presidential hopefuls have long, shameful records of railing against policies that support America’s hardworking middle-class families.”
Biden is playing a dangerous game comparing MAGAnomics to Bidenomics. His overall economic approval-disapproval rating remains unfavorable, at 37% approval and 59% disapproval), according to RealClearPolitics. Notably, a recent Suffolk University Sawyer Business School and USA Today poll revealed that 47% of adult respondents trust Trump more than Biden with the economy, while 36% hold the opposite view. Among independents, Trump outperformed Biden on the economy, with 46% support compared to Biden’s 26%.
EJ Antoni, a federal budget research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, expressed confusion over Biden’s insistence on pinning his campaign on the economy, suggesting that this approach appears to be a losing strategy.
Antoni pointed to Biden’s spending initiatives as the most significant misstep in his presidency, spanning from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Inflation Reduction Act. Every administrative spending decision so far has contributed to the ongoing issue of inflation, leading to concerns of an impending recession.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign sees the unexpected benefit of Biden’s newest strategy and is actively using it against him. They accuse Bidenomics of being undermined by factors like inflation, taxation, and failure. Trump’s campaign also highlights Biden’s approach to taxes, energy, immigration, and regulation as problematic.
In response to Biden’s MAGAnomics messaging, the Trump campaign points to polls confirming that Americans reject Biden’s attempts to call his horrible economic performance successful or popular. The campaign accuses Biden of trying to blame Trump for the financial pain that Biden’s disastrous economics policies have unleashed on Americans.
The polls suggest that Americans are aware of the financial devastation that Bidenomics is causing them. Since President Biden assumed office, real wages have declined by more than 5%, resulting in the average worker facing a loss of over $4,900 in real income. The inflation crisis has hit Americans hard, with prices surging by 15.5% during Biden’s term.
This inflation rate is more than three times higher than just a few years ago. As a result, the average family of four now spends an additional $13,717 per year or $1,143 per month to buy the same goods and services they could afford in January 2021.
By pitting MAGAnomics against Bidenomics, the Biden campaign might be unintentionally offering the Republicans a better shot at victory in the 2024 elections than any strategy the Republicans could devise themselves.
