President-elect Donald Trump has publicly called the state of the country and its economy a “disaster” and a “total mess.” But in a private meeting, President Joe Biden said the president-elect complimented his economic policies.
“He was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done,” Biden said in a 55-minute interview with USA TODAY. “And he talked about − he thought I was leaving with a good record.”
Inflation and high prices were a top concern among voters in the 2024 presidential election – and they were a driving force as to why Trump won in November against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
While many Americans are still feeling an ache in their pocketbook, inflation has eased from a 40-year high of 7.1% in early 2022 to 2.4% in November. The U.S. economy is forecasted to slowly grow this year.
But Biden, and Harris by association, have faced criticism from voters across the country for the state of the economy despite its recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Joe Biden sits down with USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page for an interview in the Oval Office on Jan. 5.
In the months leading up to the election, more than half of Americans (52%) said they were worse off than they were for years ago, according to a Gallup survey published in September. At the time, a majority (62%) said the economy was “getting worse” compared to the 32% who said it was “getting better.”
During his administration, Biden passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in an effort to boost growth and jobs that suffered under the COVID-19 pandemic. However, his critics have targeted the package, with Republican lawmakers accusing him of spurring inflation.
Trump’s economic agenda
While Biden said Trump has privately praised his policies, the president-elect has laid out his own policy agenda to address the U.S. economy.
Trump has pledged to extend and expand the sweeping tax cuts passed in his first term. But he’s also promised to impose massive tariffs and deport millions of immigrants who lack permanent legal status — a move that could reignite inflation and dampen economic growth, some forecasters say.
Still, others say his tax cut promises and vows to ease the regulatory burden on businesses could juice the economy and have mixed effects on inflation.
“On Jan. 20, we’ll turn the economy around very quickly,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. “When I think of our economy, I think about inflation, that’s what we have…There’s never been anything like it. And over the next four years, the United States is going to take off like a rocketship.”
Contributing: Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Good record’: Biden said Trump complimented his economic policies
