WILMINGTON, Del. – In case you missed it, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, where he touted the strong economic fundamentals under President Biden, including new record highs for the stock market and the highest two-month increase in consumer confidence in decades. Senator Coons also discussed the importance of passing the supplemental package, including funding for border security, that is currently being negotiated in the Senate.
Watch the full interview here.
Senator Coons: [T]he stock market hit an all-time high on Friday. We had unemployment below 4% for the longest stretch in 50 years. President Biden has presided over the creation of 14 million new private-sector jobs, and only two American presidents in the last century –Donald Trump and Herbert Hoover – left office with fewer Americans working than when they started. Joe Biden has presided over a strong and a robust economy that’s great for middle-class Americans. Donald Trump did not.
Dana Bash: Can I push back on that a little bit, because you brought it up? What you said about the data may not be wrong, but you know better than I do, the way people feel is how they vote. And despite all of those accomplishments, President Biden is having trouble breaking through with voters, particularly working-class voters, young voters, those who he needs, historically has had as part of his coalition; they’re not feeling it. How does the campaign need to change strategy so that they feel it and they don’t just hear it and see it on data points?
Senator Coons: Well, Dana, funny you should mention that. Just last week, consumer confidence took the single greatest jump, positive jump, in 30 years. As inflation has come down, prices have come down, and as we’re beginning to see the impacts in people’s pocketbooks of President Biden’s leadership. For example, insulin out-of-pocket costs are now capped at $35 a month. It used to be hundreds of dollars a month. Those of us with family members with diabetes understand how that is a significant step forward for the American public. We’re beginning to see the positive impacts of President Biden’s real leadership on our economy.