Veteran Democrat political strategist James Carville has begun to “doubt” if the economy is the key focus for a successful presidential candidate, as President Joe Biden’s approval rating has failed to surge with an economy the operative sees as “quite good.”
In an interview published Friday, Carville spoke with the Hill and identified a disconnect between what he sees as an “economic bounceback” and the American people. This comes as the White House touts “Bidenomics.”
“The economic bounce back, it was had by any measure … but, for whatever reason, people are not connecting this, [they] don’t think that economy’s that good,” Carville told the Hill, referring to a dip in inflation and low unemployment numbers. “To the extent they think it’s good, they’re not giving the president’s policies very much credit for it.”
The operative famously put up a sign in then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s campaign headquarters in 1992 that read, “It’s the economy, stupid.” In other words, the most crucial theme any presidential candidate can focus on is the economic problems affecting and concerning Americans.
Yet, while he told the Hill he still believes this to be true, doubt has crept in amid Biden’s low approval ratings, which reportedly have him frustrated.
“I’m starting to doubt myself a little bit, because this economy is quite good. Maybe it will kick in. And sometimes it takes a while for people to feel it,” he said.
For reference, Biden’s average approval rating on RealClearPolitics from July 17 – August 10 is just 41.2 percentage points.
President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2023 (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images).
“I think some of it is, there’s just so much built up on how bad the economy was, the struggle the economy was in, are recessions coming? I think that’s a hard bell to unring,” Carville explained.
Notably, Biden’s administration has overseen 40-year-high inflation, record-high gas prices, and supply chain woes.
A customer pumps gas into their car at a gas station on May 18, 2022, in Petaluma, California. Gas prices in California have surpassed $6.00 per gallon for the first time ever (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images).
This week, the president touted “Bidenomics” in Arizona despite Fitch’s downgrading of the United States’ credit rating from AA+ to AAA last week and electric bus company Proterra, which the Biden administration heavily backed, filing for bankruptcy on Monday.
While the White House leans into “Bidenomics” and takes credit for the Inflation Reduction Act – which does not curb inflation – and other legislation that was largely passed along partisan lines in the last Congress, vulnerable House Democrats are steering clear of the term.
Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who won reelection by just two percent of the vote in 2022, touted Democrat-friendly spending bills on Tuesday before constituents but did not use the newly minted “Bidenomics” phrase. Afterward, she told the Washington Post she is “not really big on catchphrases.”
“If you use the term, ‘Bidenomics,’ but somebody can’t afford their groceries, then they’re like, ‘Yeah, Bidenomics isn’t working for me,'” she said. Her posture suggests she may see affiliation with the term as a potentially risky prospect.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech on “Bidenomics” on June 28, 2023, at the Old Post Office in Chicago (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
Similarly, Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) is apprehensive about “pointing to economic progress — let alone crediting the president’s policies for it,” Politico reported on Tuesday.
“I’m hyper-focused on the district. I think the most important job that a congressperson can do is first listen and then react, “Vasquez told the outlet. “And so I’m not going to go into my district pushing a Democratic agenda that people don’t feel is happening on the ground.”
