President Joe Biden said the United States is "on the right path" in response to the Commerce Department's Thursday report that GDP fell for the second consecutive quarter, signaling a recession.
"It's no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation," Biden wrote in a Thursday statement. "We are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure."
Biden's assertion that the slowdown is "no surprise" comes after he insisted Monday that "we're not going to be in a recession." Critics say his administration has attempted to redefine the word "recession," which most sources define as two consecutive quarters of GDP drops, to paint a rosier picture of the economy ahead of November's midterms. Biden in his Thursday statement does not use the word "recession."
The GDP report comes as inflation is at a 40-year high, which many economists blame on Biden's $2 trillion stimulus bill. It also comes the day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) announced their support for another massive spending bill that critics say could worsen inflation.
Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who served under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said in May that he expects 1970s-style stagflation, in which economic growth is low and inflation is high, under Biden.