To avoid ‘historic shellacking’ in midterms, Biden is promoting a sunny view of US economy

theguardian.com:

As he celebrated the impressive May jobs report on Friday, Joe Biden went to great lengths to paint a rosy picture of the US economy. While acknowledging the difficult reality of high prices caused by near record-high inflation, Biden pointed to the 390,000 jobs created last month to argue that the US is in a strong economic position.

“I know that even with today’s good news, a lot of Americans remain anxious, and I understand the feeling,” the US president said. “But there’s every reason for the American people to feel confident that we’ll meet these challenges.”

But as of now, much of America does not seem to be buying the optimistic vision that Biden and his team are selling.

Polls show Americans are viewing the US economy with a growing sense of pessimism, as experts warn of a potential recession. Despite the White House’s renewed efforts this month to allay Americans’ concerns, high prices and economic uncertainty are weighing heavily on the minds of many voters. With less than six months to go until the midterm elections, the odds of a Republican rout in November appear higher than ever.

Americans who started taking notice of rising prices last year are now feeling the brutal impact of inflation on their family budgets. Gas prices are at record highs and continuing to climb, partly due to the war in Ukraine. Wages have gone up in the past year, but those gains have been wiped out by inflation. While average hourly earnings increased by 5.2% over the past 12 months, the latest US inflation report showed prices rose by 8.3% from a year earlier.

That sticker shock has marred Americans’ views of the economy. A Gallup survey taken last month found that only 14% of American adults consider economic conditions to be