House Democrats have rejected the White House’s months-long campaign to sell the term “Bidenomics.”
Why it matters: Democrats are going into the 2024 election divided on how to communicate about the economy at a time when most voters are dissatisfied with it.
What’s happening: House Democratic leadership stopped pushing the term months ago.
- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC, two key fundraising arms, are also avoiding it on social media and press releases, as polling indicates the tagline is ineffective.
- In a meeting this past summer to discuss economic messaging strategy, House Democrats decided to stick with “People Over Politics” rather than “Bidenomics,” one senior Democratic leadership aide told Axios.
Zoom in: The “Bidenomics” catchphrase seemed to present a host of issues, according to Democratic sources.
- The term was seen as tone-deaf to voters still struggling economically and also invoked a president with lackluster polling numbers.
- One Democratic strategist said the biggest problem wasn’t using “Biden,” but that the term was too philosophical and required too much explanation.
- Democrats across the board intend to keep many of the policies behind the “Bidenomics” tagline front and center heading into 2024.
What they’re saying: “This week GDP growth was revised upward to 5.2% in the last quarter and this story’s economic focus is on how many times the House Dems have uttered a single particular word,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, told Axios in a statement.
How we got here: The White House began touting the catchphrase “Bidenomics” this year in an effort to change the troubling polling on the president’s economic record ahead of 2024.
- Biden was initially ambivalent about the term, then embraced it — but “Bidenomics” has recently disappeared from his prepared speeches, as NBC News reported.
- The White House and the Biden campaign have continued to use the term, and the president spoke at an event in Colorado this past week with “Bidenomics” signage.
Some Democratic lawmakers have publicly expressed concern about the messaging tactic over the past few months, even as they plan to campaign on economic success.
By Stef W. Kight, and Alex Thompson
