US not near recession, needs more time to cool prices: US president Biden

President Joe Biden said he is optimistic the US isn’t nearing a recession the day after Democrats fared better than expected in midterm elections clouded by voter anxiety about inflation and the economy.
 

“We’re not anywhere near a recession right now, in terms of the growth,” said Biden at the White House on Wednesday. “I think we can have what most economists call a soft landing, and I’m convinced that we’re going to be able to gradually bring down prices so that they in fact, end up with us not having to move into recession.”

Biden said that his actions to lower inflation would need more time to take effect.

“What I can’t do is I can’t guarantee that we’re going to be able to get rid of inflation, but I do think we can,” said Biden. “We’re driving down all of those costs and we’ve already passed the legislation to do that, it’s just taking effect.”

His comments came as the White House sought to take a victory lap for a better-than-expected election. Democrats defended key seats in the House in tight races and managed to hold onto governorships in states like Michigan. 

The question of which party will control the House and Senate remains unclear as election results roll in. Republicans are inching closer toward a narrow House majority, but the Senate is still in play with each party needing to win two of three races to claim a majority.

Heading into the election, voters had cited inflation and the state of the economy as their No. 1 concern in various polls. An October New York Times/Siena College survey showed voters who worried most about the economy favored Republicans by a two-to-one margin.  

But on election night, Democratic voters cited abortion, gun policy and crime as the most important issues, according to exit polls -- with inflation clocking in as the fourth most significant issue for liberals. Republicans cited immigration, inflation and crime as their top issues in voting, according to the same exit polls.

Still, the tightness of the race and the seats Democrats managed to hold showed one of the best midterm performances for an incumbent president’s party in 20 years, since George W. Bush’s Republicans gained seats in the election following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.