Biden Downplays Public's Anxiety Over Skyrocketing Prices

Many U.S. presidents have at times lacked the ability to read the mood of the nation, appearing woefully out-of-touch when their policy objectives did not align with the public’s priorities.

Typically, when these mismatches between the president and the people occur, savvy politicians have corrected their courses. For example, in the mid-1990s, when voters made it clear they did not crave the Big Government policies President Clinton was pursuing, he reversed course and declared the “era of big government is over.”

Clinton abandoned his health care overhaul, cut taxes, reformed welfare with work requirements and eventually balanced the budget. He won reelection and left office with the highest approval ratings since Harry Truman.
President Biden ran as a pragmatic moderate but has governed as a big-spending liberal, and despite plummeting poll ratings, he remains entrenched in his unpopular policy positions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Biden’s economic agenda. Since taking office, Biden has signed into law two multi-trillion-dollar bills – the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $1.1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – that have contributed to the raging inflation that is top of mind for American voters.