Joe Biden Gets Tentative Boost Ahead of 2024 Election

The Federal Reserve's announcement that it will soon be shifting toward cutting rates expresses the central bank's optimism towards the U.S. economy, which in turn could boost Joe Biden's campaign for the 2024 election.

On Wednesday, the Fed left rates unchanged between 5.25 and 5.50 percent, where they have been since July, and projected three-quarter point rate cut next year as they see inflation improving and getting closer to its target of 2 percent. After reaching a peak of 9.1 percent in June last year, inflation was down to 3.1 percent in November.

The announcement cheered markets, as the Fed's Chair Jerome Powell celebrated recent progress on inflation and cautiously expressed optimism for the future of the U.S. economy, which should avoid serious economic pain.

The public's perception of the economy has traditionally proven key in determining an incumbent's hope for reelection. Recent polls have shown that a majority of the public blames Biden for the rise of inflation last year and thinks that his administration's policies have not helped the country bounce back.

A monthly poll published by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business last month found that only 14 percent of American voters think they're better off financially now than before Biden took office. Nearly 70 percent of respondents thought that the Biden administration's policies had either hurt the U.S. economy or made no impact.

Even those voters who supported Biden in the 2020 election against Donald Trump are now skeptical. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll released in late November, a majority of 62 percent of American voters in six battleground states who voted for Biden in 2020 now think the economy is only "fair" or "poor." The number jumped to 97 percent among those who voted for Trump in the last election.

The Fed's announcement might work in Biden's favor as election day gets closer—or at least that is what some are hoping for.

"This is exactly what I've been trying to say for the past year and a half. The main cause of inflation has nothing to do with Joe Biden," wrote journalist Ed Krassenstein on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The inflation that we saw in 2022 and 2023 is mostly caused by the supply shock we saw due to COVID, and the workforce shortage that we endured due to COVID. When supply is held low and demand jumps due to COVID subsiding, prices have nowhere to go but up," he added. "Today Federal Reserve Chairman Powell confirmed this. Don't believe me, listen for yourself."

Tennessee election commissioner Chris D. Jackson, a Democrat, celebrated the Fed's announcement by praising Biden and "Bidenomics" for getting the country "moving again."

But others have been more skeptical to attribute the positive outlook on the U.S. economy to Biden's policies.

"Inflation is down to 3.2 percent after hitting a record high of 9 percent and we're supposed to celebrate it," wrote conservative political commentator Andrew of Don't Walk, Run on X.

"Wages are rising, but they have not kept up with inflation, and we're supposed to thank our lord and savior Joe Biden. Gas prices are lower than their record high last year, but still very high and we're supposed to bend over and vote Democrats?" he added.

Biden is still facing an uphill battle to convince voters of his merits in getting the U.S. economy back up from the post-pandemic woes. As of December 13, a majority of 55.5 percent of American voters disapproved of the president, according to FiveThirtyEight, while 38.6 percent approved of him.

Newsweek contacted the White House's press team for comment by email on Thursday.