Staff Reports
The Biden campaign released a list of talking points to help his supporters combat “crazy MAGA nonsense” at their Thanksgiving gatherings. This list includes dubious claims about inflation, job creation, and former President Donald Trump’s stance on a federal abortion ban. The Biden campaign’s first point rebuts the assertion that the economy was better during Trump’s presidency. They argue that under Biden, the economy has seen lower inflation, significant job creation, and cheaper Thanksgiving dinner costs, including gas, turkey, and eggs.
Biden campaign releases Thanksgiving talking points for ‘crazy MAGA nonsense’ on the same day he begs ‘stop the rancor’ https://t.co/pR9vEvUYnA pic.twitter.com/fU4chrFHyi
— New York Post (@nypost) November 24, 2023
However, conservative critics point to data that reveals inflation reached a four-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, and while it had slightly decreased to 3.2% in October, it remained higher than any month during the Trump administration. Additionally, gas prices hit a record high of $5.01 per gallon in June 2022 and have only slightly decreased since then. The American Farm Bureau Federation reported that while the cost of a classic Thanksgiving feast decreased by 4.5% from the previous year, it had still risen by 30% since 2020. The Republican National Committee highlighted that it was the second-most expensive Thanksgiving in the survey’s 38-year history.
Moreover, a House Budget Committee report revealed that about 72% of all job gains since 2021 were jobs being recovered from the pandemic, not new job creation. The report also emphasized that job creation under President Trump was 3 million more jobs than the current President. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that average hourly earnings had fallen due to inflation during Biden’s presidency.
In regards to Trump’s position on a federal abortion ban, the Biden campaign claimed that Trump endorsed a ban and called for punishment for women who have an abortion. However, Trump criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a six-week ban on abortion into law and refused to express support for a federal abortion ban during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The Biden campaign’s release of these talking points occurred on the same day that President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden urged Americans to “stop the rancor” over political differences, emphasizing the need to come together and treat each other with decency. This shows a stark contrast between the Biden campaign’s aggressive messaging and the President’s call for unity.
The Biden campaign’s efforts to combat “MAGA nonsense” on Thanksgiving highlight the divide between their confrontational rhetoric and President Biden’s call for unity. While the campaign may present cherry-picked data and questionable claims, the broader context and conservative perspectives reveal a different story.
