Biden’s campaign released a not-so-festive list of talking points Thursday intended to help his supporters navigate “pointless” political conversations at the Thanksgiving table, the same day the 81-year-old president pleaded with Americans to “stop the rancor.” above political differences.
The list, which the Biden campaign called “Your Practical Guide to Responding to Crazy MAGA Nonsense This Thanksgiving,” was shared on X and included questionable claims about inflation, job creation and former President Donald Trump’s position on a federal abortion ban.
“The economy got better under Trump!” reads the first item on the list, alluding to a possible statement a supporter of the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner could make at the table.
To counter that claim, the Biden campaign suggests his supporters respond by saying, “Bad. Inflation is the lowest in two years, the economy is growing and unemployment has been below 4% for the longest period on record. Just look at Thanksgiving costs compared to last year: Gas prices: Cheaper. Türkiye: cheaper. Eggs: cheaper. “Joe Biden has created almost 14 million jobs and the economy is growing.”
The list included questionable claims about the president’s record on the economy and Trump’s positions on abortion bans.
Under Biden, inflation hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022.
The latest consumer price index figures show price increases cooled to 3.2% in October, but still remain higher than any month during the Trump administration.
Similarly, gas prices soared to a record national average of $5.01 per gallon in June 2022 and have since fallen to about $3.27 per gallon as of Thursday, according to AAA, but are still being 88 cents higher than when Biden took office in January 2021. .
As for food prices, a report from the American Farm Bureau Federation found that the “classic Thanksgiving feast for 10” in 2023 will be priced at $61.17, “a decrease of 4.5%.” compared to last year’s historically high prices,” and a decline in turkey prices accounts for most of that price reduction.
But AFBF data also shows that Thanksgiving prices have skyrocketed 30% since 2020, with the classic meal priced at $46.90 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Republican National Committee also noted that it was “the second most expensive Thanksgiving in the survey’s 38-year history.”
The list touts Biden’s record on inflation and job creation.AP
The Biden campaign’s job creation claim also appears to credit the incumbent for jobs recovered after unprecedented layoffs that took place during the economic shutdown at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A House Budget Committee report released in June notes that about 72% of all job gains since 2021 were jobs recovered from the pandemic, not new job creation.
“In fact, if you compare the current economy to pre-pandemic levels, employment has increased by only 3.7 million. On the other hand, before the pandemic, job creation under President Trump was 6.7 million, 3 million more jobs than the current president,” the report states.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also indicates that Americans are taking home less money for their work due to inflation.
Inflation-adjusted median hourly earnings were $11.41 per hour in January 2021 when Biden took office and fell more than 3% to the current rate of $11.05 in October, according to the BLS.
On abortion, Biden’s points state that “Trump backed a federal ban and said there should be punishment for women who have abortions.”
In fact, the former president caught the attention of conservatives in September when he criticized his Republican primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for signing a six-week ban on the procedure into state law.
The talking points were intended to help Biden supporters win arguments against Trump supporters on Thanksgiving.Getty Images
Trump called the move a “terrible mistake” and refused to say whether he would support a federal abortion ban during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He noted that “from a legal standpoint, I think it’s probably better” for abortion restrictions to be handled at the state level.
The guide to handling “crazy MAGA nonsense” was released the same day the president and first lady Jill Biden spoke by phone with NBC News’ Al Roker before the Thanksgiving Day parade in Manhattan and asked Americans to “stop the grudge.”
“This Thanksgiving, Al, we have to come together,” the president said. “We may have different political views, but we have one point of view. The only opinion is that we are the greatest and best nation in the world. “We should focus on that.”
“We should focus on dealing with our problems and being together and stopping the grudge. “We have to bring the nation together and treat each other with a little bit of decency, and I think that’s where the vast majority of the American people are.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn