The US economy is doing well, so-called ‘Bidenomics’ should convince the American electorate to re-elect President Biden in next year’s election. “13 million jobs have been added since the record, but that was during the Corona period,” says US correspondent Leonard Zandbergen.

It’s normal for presidents to be held accountable for their economic policies, says US expert Coen Peterson, ‘when things go well, they get credit. But when things go wrong, they are blamed for it. For example, Biden now depends on all kinds of factors of how the economy is doing and how it reflects on him.’ One factor that matters to Americans is fuel prices. The car is the most important form of transportation in America. Whether you are rich or poor, everyone has a car.’

The US economy is currently doing better than the EU, says Sandbergen. ‘Either way, growth is growing better than in Europe. There are now economists who are skeptical that China will become a super economy. The Bitenomics policy is built on the ‘America First’ policy of Biden’s predecessor, Trump. ‘Biden is busy bringing industry back to America with huge subsidies. He is also waging a trade war with China.

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From Republicans, the president has been accused of overspending. “If you turn on the printing press and use it to pay for your policy, you’re asking for trouble, Republicans believe,” says Peterson. ‘There is now a movement in the party which believes that there should be income for every expenditure. These politicians are looking more closely at the housekeeping book than has been the norm in Washington until now.’

The advent of recession could throw a spanner in Biden’s jobs, says Zandbergen. ‘So you get a lot of negativity for Bitenomics and it’s an easy stick to beat before the election.’