Fox News Sunday
Interview
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It's great to be with you, Shannon.
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I'm not worried because he has a great record to run. Polls will go up. Polls will go down. But what won't change are the facts -- 12 million new jobs since he was elected president, which is a record, historical record, including the greatest growth in manufacturing jobs in 40 years, record low unemployment, 3.5 percent, I should say the lowest in 50 years.
So he's got a great economic record to run on. Inflation is coming down. That's obviously been an issue.
But I think he's got a great record to run on, and I think the polls will bounce around as they always do. But as the president said last night, you just quoted him. Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.
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Well, I think one of things you're seeing in polling these days is a great polarization between Democrats and Republicans even on questions like how are you feeling on the economy. If you look at --
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Right. So, the issue of inflation has been very real. The good news is it is coming down. The other good news is the most recent economic report shows that people's real wages are going up. So, wages have now been going off, especially for lower and middle income families at a faster pace than inflation.
So, those are real gains and I think they will to continue. So, look, obviously, what's happening in the economy will also change, but I think the structural pieces of it are sound, and that's what's going to be important going into the election.
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Well, I saw the president last night. He was in fighting form. I saw him at the event with the South Korean president, again, great press conference.
So, look, I think people should judge presidents on their performance and their record, not their age. And the president has a great record. I talked about some of the economic factors.
He's also one of the most protective presidents in recent history when it comes to a legislative record, major bipartisan victories, right? The -- we had the infrastructure bill. We had the CHIPS and Science bill to make sure we're competitive vis-a-vis China and others, and the veterans' health care bill. And there were also major wins when it came to bringing down the cost of prescription drugs and deploying more clean energy.
So, Shannon, what I would say is just look at his record. That's what we should be judging people on, not age.
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Well, Joe Biden is doing what any senator should do, which is sticking up for his state and using his leverage however he can, and that's what Joe Biden is doing when it comes to --
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Excuse me, I'm sorry. Joe --
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Exactly. That's what Joe Manchin is doing when it comes to these issues. He's fighting for West Virginia and using his leverage wherever he can.
So, look, I think if you look at the results of the Inflation Reduction Act, people are already seeing their prescription drug costs coming down, people on Medicare. That's real, as is the deployment of clean energy.
In my state of Maryland, we're going to have 10,000 new jobs because of offshore wind energy driven by some of the economic incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Well, first of all, we have some buffer room, right? The bill reduced the deficit over a 10-year period by over $250 billion. The fact that there's a greater appetite for clean energy is actually a good thing when it comes both to jobs and dealing with the climate crisis. So that bill has a built-in buffer, unlike many of the bills our Republican colleagues passed, like the, you know, Bush -- the Trump tax cuts. This was actually something that reduced the deficit.
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Well, Shannon, the president has been doing what he should be doing, which is going out around the country and meeting with people and talking about the results from his first two years. He has come to Maryland more than any other president in my memory. He's been there multiple times talking about the infrastructure, modernization bill, creating new tunnels making trips faster for commuters.
So, I think what he's doing is going around the country and talking directly to people. I know the Washington press corps always wants to hear more from the president.
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We heard from him just the other day when the South Korean president was here and they asked him a lot of questions, including about the age issue.
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Well, that's up to the president's campaign. I mean, this is early. He just announced his reelection campaign.
These are decisions every campaign makes both with respect to the primary and the general. I think the president is going to keep his eye on the ball, which is winning the general election. That's what's important for the country. What they decide to do in the primary, only time will tell.
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So, Shannon, what he said is that he's not going to negotiate with people who are threatening to literally blow up our economy, right? Put more people out of work, drive up costs in order to get their way. And that's what he said.
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It does but then it says in order to raise the ceiling, we're going to cut veterans. We're going to cut law enforcement. We're going to cut border security. We're going to cut all sorts of things. We're going to put China back in the driver's seat when it comes to clean energy.
So, what the president is saying, he's not going to negotiate with someone who's actually threatening the economy, taking the entire economy hostage. He will sit down with Speaker McCarthy to talk about these issues in the framework of the budget and the appropriations process.
President Biden has put a plan on the table, quite a detailed budget, much more detailed than what Speaker McCarthy and the House just passed, that has $3 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years, primarily by asking very, very wealthy people, billionaires and big corporations, to pay more.
Speaker McCarthy has a plan that cuts about I think $4.5 trillion over ten years, through dramatic cuts but threatening the destruction of the U.S. economy. So --
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What you've got to do with not threaten the detonation of the economy. So, for example, Senator Mitch McConnell years ago when we came to this kind of impasse and said, okay, if Congress doesn't want to do its job and actually pay to make sure the United States pays the bills, which as we will know, our bills that are already due and owing. Already due and owing.
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Right. But so -- but if you want to -- if you want to do that, give the president the authority to do it, subject to a veto, subject to an override. So that's the way to do it.
If Republicans don't want to do what's necessary to prevent the meltdown of the economy, left President Biden do that and then let's negotiate on important issues, of priorities, how you best achieve deficit reduction.
Republicans always talk about reducing the deficit but they never want to raise one penny in income taxes on very wealthy people and corporations.
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Thanks, Shannon. Good to see you.
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