President Biden hailed what he called “a good day for democracy and a good day for America” in his first public comments since his fellow Democrats outperformed expectations in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“While the press and the pundits were predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen,” said Biden, adding that “voters spoke clearly about their concerns.”
Biden spoke as control of the House and Senate remained up for grabs Wednesday in defiance of most pre-election predictions.
In his statement before taking questions from the media, Biden insisted that “an overwhelming majority of the American people support elements of my economic agenda” and restated some of his most factually-challenged claims about his accomplishments — including taking credit once again for a decline in the federal deficit that is actually down to the end of temporary aid programs necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden said that he was willing to work with Republicans in the wake of the inconclusive midterm results, but added that “the American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.”
In the next breath, the president said that he would invite congressional leaders to the White House to exchange ideas after he returns from the G-20 summit in Indonesia later this month — then said in response to the first question asked of him that he had no intention of altering his big-spending agenda.
“Nothing,” Biden said when asked what he planned to do differently over the next two years ahead of a potential 2024 reelection bid, “because they’re just finding out what we’re doing. The more we know about what we’re doing, the more support there is.”