Biden Administration Claims U.S. Not In Recession
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We ran the numbers: There are 2,839 news articles covering this topic. 24% (683) are left-leaning, 52% (1,467) are centrist, and 24% (689) are right-leaning.
The Biden administration has asserted that the U.S. has not entered a recession in advance of a key report on GDP set to release on Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The report is expected to show a second straight quarter of negative GDP growth. While left-leaning articles highlight the role of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in declaring a recession, right-leaning articles highlight the rejection of traditional recession definitions by the Biden administration.
A left-leaning article from The Washington Post focuses on how the NBER, a nonpartisan, private organization, makes the official determination for recession and uses factors other than negative GDP growth to declare a recession. Economists point to the strong labor market to explain why the NBER might hesitate to declare the U.S. in a recession. The article also notes how the Biden administration has preemptively pushed back on the term in advance of the midterm elections and as a result of Biden’s poor approval ratings.
The Hill published a centrist article reporting on how White House officials believe the U.S. is not in a recession. President Biden stated, “God willing, I don’t think we’re going to see a recession.”
A right-leaning article from Fox News focuses on how the Biden administration has rejected traditional definitions of what constitutes a recession. National Economic Council Director Brian Deese stated that the upcoming GDP report is “inherently back-words looking” and captures “different elements of economic activity.” NBC’s Chuck Todd said Treasury Secretary Janet Yelling was “splitting hairs” when she stated that “we are not in a recession now.”