North Carolina Republican leaders are speaking out about President Joe Biden’s ‘disastrous’ economic policies ahead of his arrival on Thursday afternoon.
Biden will promote his economic successes at Abbots Creek Community Center in Raleigh, landing at the airport around 1 pm. “Bideneconomics” is a focal point of the administration, and the president has consistently touted how his policies are lowering costs and creating good-paying jobs. However, Berger says that North Carolinians have experienced first-hand rising costs, interest rates, and continued economic uncertainty.
Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, perceives the president’s visit as “a desperate attempt to flip a 15-year low approval rating’.” In a statement, Berger said that North Carolina’s economic strength is a result of state-led initiatives like tax cuts, pro-business policies, and state-funded infrastructure improvements – not the Biden administration’s ‘fallacy.’
He pointed to ‘catastrophic’ figures during the Biden administration, such as four-decade high inflation, the average price of gas, electricity, milk, and beef rising 28%, 30%, 23%, and 24%, respectively, and the current 30-year fixed rate mortgage average sitting 79% higher than what it was when President Biden took office.
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“From shutting down energy independence to making trips to the grocery store unaffordable, the incoherence coming from the Oval Office has resulted in higher costs for families and businesses,” Berger said. “You’d think with all the time the Biden administration has spent in North Carolina it would learn a thing or two about real economic success. That is sadly not the case, and the American people are stuck paying the tab for President Biden’s disastrous record.”
In a statement to the Carolina Journal, GOP Chairman Michael Whatley emphasized the increased spending while noting the economic realities Americans face today:
“President Biden isn’t fooling anyone – his economic policies are hurting North Carolina families. Prices for food, electricity, gasoline and housing have all skyrocketed thanks to his mismanagement and reckless spending. It’s no wonder his approval ratings are at historic lows,” Whatley commented.
In a press release, Speaker of the House Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, mentioned the Republican-controlled legislature turning the state’s past deficit into a surplus. He suggested Biden “take notes from North Carolina Republicans and our economic success rather than spend taxpayer dollars touting failed Bidenomics.”
As Biden’s team gears up for an intense presidential election year, North Carolina remains a battleground state for both sides of the aisle. Former President Donald Trump won the state in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but his lead shrunk, offering promising grounds for the Biden campaign.
While GOP leaders are less than impressed with Biden’s policies, Democrats including Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to attend the event to promote increased federal spending in North Carolina on infrastructure projects, including broadband. Biden is expected to announce $82 million in new federal spending from the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) Capital Projects Fund to connect an additional 16,000 North Carolina homes and businesses to high-speed internet.