President Joe Biden said a US recession isn’t inevitable and acknowledged that aides warned him about the inflationary risk of his flagship relief bill, while insisting that he won’t soften his stance on Russia even if it costs him re-election.
He said he was told by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others that his Covid aid package, passed 15 months ago, could have a marginal impact on inflation, adding that he doesn’t think it did. Biden has frequently said that the alternative to the relief plan was a deeper economic derailment and a more sluggish recovery.
Biden reiterated his message that the US was “in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation,” and also said a US recession is “not inevitable.” At the same time, he acknowledged that Americans are “really, really down” on the state of the country. He said he advises young people considering jumping into politics to ask a question: “Have you figured out what’s worth losing over?” He said that a weak American response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine could have triggered further incursions into Europe, or heightened Chinese aggression toward Taiwan or new rounds of North Korean missile tests.
USA just gave Ukraine another $1.2 billion...