After giving an update on the Ukraine war, Biden took questions from reporters and was asked about recession concerns after the GDP shrank by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022. The president expressed he's not worried — at least not any more than usual.
"I'm not concerned about a recession," Biden declared. "I mean, you're always concerned about a recession, but the GDP falling 1.4% — here's the deal. We also had, last quarter, consumer spending and business investment and residential investment increased at significant rates both for leisure, as well as hard products."
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The unemployment rate was also at its lowest number since 1970, Biden noted. Nevertheless, the GDP was expected to grow by about 1%, which the White House preemptively addressed on Wednesday. Press secretary Jen Psaki attributed the slowdown primarily to “technical reasons.”
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Aside from his press conference comments, President Biden released a statement earlier Thursday morning accusing COVID-19, inflation, and the war in Ukraine as the reasons for the contraction. In both statements, the President called for Republicans to help out.
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“If our Republican friends are really interested in doing something about dealing with economic growth, they should help us continue to lower the deficit,” Biden went on. “They should be willing to work with us to have a tax code that is actually one that works and where everybody pays their fair share.”
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