Staff Reports
President Joe Biden gave a rousing Labor Day speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he took a swipe at the Trump economy and hailed his own economic policies, dubbing them “Bidenomics.” He boasted about the creation of “800,000 new manufacturing jobs,” dismissing what he called “negative news.” According to Biden, his administration has overseen one of the greatest job creation periods in American history. He even drew a parallel between his predecessor and Herbert Hoover, claiming that they were the only two presidents to leave office with fewer jobs than when they entered. Biden was quick to credit the American workers for the economic turnaround, claiming that jobs are no longer being shipped to China but are instead being brought back to America.
Unsurprisingly, the Trump campaign fired back, with spokesperson Steven Cheung defending the former president’s economic record. Cheung highlighted the booming economic recovery and record-low unemployment rates achieved under Trump. He accused Biden of being the “destroyer of America’s jobs” and blamed him for fueling runaway inflation with reckless big government spending. Cheung emphasized Trump’s vision, which involved lower taxes, bigger paychecks, and more jobs for American workers.
The Liar in Chief expects Americans not to realize they have been paying a lot more for less since he took office. https://t.co/CypkEA6Bqt
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) September 4, 2023
Fact-checkers, however, found fault with Biden’s claims and pointed out the lack of context. They argued that comparing Biden’s job creation record to Trump’s was an unfair comparison. Experts explained that comparing the net jobs over a 4-year period to a single-month change in employment is misleading. They contended that a meaningful analysis would consider the unique circumstances of Trump’s presidency, including pre-pandemic job creation and recovery compared to other countries. They also noted the significant variance in state-level job recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, with heavy lockdown states initially lagging behind those with a more relaxed approach.
Another criticism of Biden’s claims was his assertion that his administration is bringing jobs back from China. However, it was pointed out that a large number of new jobs were filled by foreign-born U.S. workers, while native-born workers suffered job losses. Additionally, there was a decrease in full-time jobs in August, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics often revised down job reports months after their release.
In conclusion, while Biden celebrated his economic achievements, critics argued that his comparisons to Trump were unfair and lacked important context. They highlighted the variance in state-level recovery and the role of foreign-born workers in job creation. They also pointed out the revisions in job reports and the decrease in full-time jobs. Thus, there seems to be more to the story than what Biden presented in his Labor Day speech.
