U.S. President Joe Biden will use what aides are billing as a major speech on Wednesday to lift Americans’ dour mood about the economy, hoping to shore up his key political weakness as he seeks re-election.
Biden, whose two-year term as president has witnessed a sharp rebound from the COVID-19-induced recession, has nonetheless watched his public approval ratings sag under the weight of voter anxieties about inflation and the knock-on effects of spiking interest rates on the direction of the economy
The U.S. president will attempt to re-introduce his vision of middle-class American prosperity during a speech in Chicago.
The philosophy includes taxing the wealthy to invest in areas critical to national security, including semiconductors; educating workers; and improving economic competition, according to aides who previewed the speech for reporters.
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More than half – 54% – of Americans disapprove of how Biden is handling his job, while just 35% of respondents approved of his stewardship of the economy, according to a Reuters poll conducted earlier this month.
Voters rate the economy as their top issue, the U.S. economy grew at a 1.3% annualized rate in the first quarter and unemployment was at 3.7% in May when inflation rose at a 4% year-over-year rate.
(Editor: Oloyede Oworu)
