The top strategist for former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns says the economy is Joe Biden’s Achilles’ heel headed into the November election.
During a recent interview, David Axelrod stated the economy is the president’s “constant, constant problem.”
“His desire to claim credit is a huge obstacle to connecting with voters on this issue,” Axelrod added, referencing Biden’s efforts to cite positive economic trends as a win for the people. “We learned this in 2011 and 2012. You can cite data until the cows come home, but what counts is how people are perceiving the economy.”
The strategist helped put a Democrat in the White House with two winning campaigns in 2008 and 2012. His words echo the growing foreboding feeling some on the Left feel about Biden’s inability to reach voters on key issues ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Earlier this month, Axelrod said during an interview, “I don’t understand all these months later, you know, I thought they spent $25 million mistakenly last fall touting Bidenomics and making the same argument that the president is making here.”
During the May 8 interview, Axelrod expressed his belief that Biden’s refusal to acknowledge voters are viewing the economy through “the lens of the cost of living” is “a terrible mistake.”
Earlier this month, a poll showed the economy was the top area of concern for 83% of swing state voters, the most of any issue.
Another recent poll from the Swing State Project found most voters are measuring the economy’s health by different factors than the Biden administration. In the survey, 54% of swing state voters believed the cost of living was the best way to measure the economy’s strength, with only 13% choosing the unemployment rate and 6% citing the stock market.
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Axelrod’s strong words to the sitting president were in response to an interview during which Biden glossed over voters’ economic woes. Earlier this month, Biden claimed, “We have the strongest economy in the world.”
A report from the Consumer Spending & Saving Index shows 45% of the country expects an economic downturn is on the horizon. In 2024, the percentage of people listing inflation as the top financial problem reached an all-time high.