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Former Obama adviser and CNN political analyst David Axelrod lambasted President Biden‘s defiant stance on the economy Wednesday, calling it a “terrible mistake” so much so that it could result in his defeat in the upcoming election.
“I don’t understand this,” the famed Democratic strategist reacted. “I don’t understand all these months later, you know, I thought they spent $25 million mistakenly last fall touting Bidenomics and making the same argument that the president is making here.”
In an interview with CNN, Biden attempted to boast about his record despite polls that consistently show dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and that Americans trust his 2024 rival, former President Trump, on the issue more than him.
“We’ve already turned it around,” Biden insisted before citing one poll showing most Americans claiming they are “personally in good shape” economically.
He then lashed out at other survey findings, “The polling data has been wrong all along. You guys do a poll at CNN, how many folks do you have to call to get one response? The idea that we’re in a situation where things are so bad… When I started this administration, people were saying there’s gonna be a collapse in the economy. We have the strongest economy in the world. Let me say that again, in the world.”
President Biden rejected polls showing disapproval over his handling of the economy during an interview with CNN. (Screenshot/CNN)
That attitude did not sit well with Axelrod.
“It is absolutely true. The world was plunged into an economic crisis and America was plunged into an economic crisis by the pandemic and we’ve come back faster than almost any other country and he’s right about that. But that’s not the way people are experiencing the economy,” Axelrod told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“They’re experiencing it through the lens of the cost of living. And he is a man who’s built his career on empathy. Why not lead with the empathy?”
He continued, “And I think he’s making a terrible mistake… If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump that beats him. It may be his own pride.”
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod torched President Biden’s defiant stance on the economy following his CNN interview. (Screenshot/CNN)
Fellow CNN panelist Scott Jennings agreed with Axelrod, calling Biden’s economic messaging “incredibly weak.”
“You correctly confronted him with the statistics and the polling and he whined about that. And then of course, we went wobbly on Israel,” Jennings told Burnett.
“I think he must be mortified when he looks at poll after poll that says the American people trust Donald Trump more on the economy, they trust him to be a strong leader, and they believe that the world is in chaos because he is weak and Trump is strong. It must be mortifying that he can’t find a way out of this cul de sac,” Jennings added.
Polls consistently show that Americans trust former President Trump more with the economy than President Biden. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
While the White House repeatedly touts strong economic stats, voters at home aren’t happy with Biden’s job performance. A Fox News poll in March showed only 38% of Americans approve Biden’s handling of the economy.
Meanwhile, the RealClearPolitics average of polls continues to show Trump having the edge over Biden in the key swing states that are needed to win the election.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
