President Biden attacked Republicans in a speech to the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Monday, stoking claims that Republicans would "crash the economy" in an attempt to force him to gut Medicare.
Biden also used the opportunity to coin the term "Mega-MAGA trickle down," which is how he has chosen to refer to Republican economic policies. The president went on to name House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, arguing that he and his fellow Republicans would grow the deficit by $3 trillion if their priorities were to pass. He also argued the party plans to use the deficit as a bludgeon against him.
"Republicans have made it clear that if they win control of the Congress, they will shut down the government, refuse to pay our bills, and it will be the first time in the history of America that we will default--unless I yield and cut social security and Medicare … They're threatening to default on the federal debt. There's nothing that would create more chaos, more inflation, more damage to the American economy than this," Biden said.
"Let me be clear: I will not cut social security. I will not cut Medicare," he continued.
Republicans have blasted Biden's spending agenda throughout his presidency, taking hold of his funding boost to the IRS in particular. Biden and the Democrats granted an $80 billion funding boost to the agency, allowing for 87,000 new IRS employees.
Polls have shown an increasingly grim picture for Democrats in the final weeks before the midterm elections on November 8. A New York Times poll last week found that 26% of voters say the economy is their most important issue, followed by inflation and cost of living at 18%. Abortion came in third at just 5%. Immigration also landed at 5%, while crime rounded out the top five at 3%.
The poll also found that voters overwhelmingly trust Republicans to handle issues like the economy and inflation more than Democrats.
President Biden's own polling numbers have dropped since Democrats first got a boost in the polls in July and August, falling to 39% on Monday. A Fox News Poll found that just 33% of voters would choose to re-elect the president.
Another poll from the Associated Press poll found that with 49% of voters said they were more likely to vote for a Republican candidate on Election Day, compared to 45% who leaned toward Democrats.
Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have dismissed the polls, however, arguing that issues like abortion will galvanize voters against Republicans.
"Inflation’s an issue, but it’s global. It’s global. … What’s their plan? They ain’t got nothing," Pelosi told Punchbowl News last week. "When you bring down unemployment, inflation goes up. … So in any case, [President Biden] brought unemployment [down], cut it in half. Inflation is, thereby, but it’s global and not as bad as it is in some countries. We’ll have to message it better in the next three weeks ahead. I think we’re in great shape. Other people don’t want to believe that."
