Some Democrats are concerned the "Bidenomics" branding for the economy is hurting the party heading into the 2024 elections, Politico reported.
President Joe Biden has used the phrase for what he insists is an improving economy. However, allies have raised concerns about the label to the White House, Politico reported.
Some Democrats are worried that Biden could be alienating voters by appearing sheltered from their real-life struggles.
"I've never understood why you would brand an economy in your name when the economy hasn't fully recovered yet," said Michael LaRosa, a former spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, Politico reported Friday.
"People need to be able to see and feel an economy in their own personal bank accounts. And it doesn't change no matter how loud you scream the economy is better."
Morning Consult and Axios' Inequality Index earlier this week showed that Americans are struggling to view their personal financial futures and the broader economy in a positive light.
"At this point, Bidenomics doesn't really have strong answers to people's biggest worries," Will Marshall, president of the Democrat think tank Progressive Policy Institute, told Politico.
"There ought to be a lot of thinking in the White House now about changes in the way they present their case for the economic good that this administration has done."
Various surveys show that the American people are not buying the economic recovery the Biden team has been selling.
At least one Democrat says Bidenomics focuses conversation on the president's reelection campaign rather than on voters who could benefit from the administration's economic accomplishments.
"With all due respect to the president, to the White House, this is not so much about them as it is the people who are benefiting by the policies that they came out and demanded," said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.
"We have to do a better job framing this not so much for one person — for the office of the presidency — but for the people."
White House aides remain stubborn. They say it's too early to judge a messaging strategy designed to play out over the yearlong run-up to the 2024 election.
Biden's team also believes voters haven't realized the differences between Biden's policies and those of 2024 Republican nomination front-runner former President Donald Trump.
"Like they did in 2022, Americans will face a choice between MAGA Republicans whose agenda serves the rich and powerful, and Joe Biden, whose agenda serves the middle class," Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, Politico reported. "That strategy worked then, and it will again in 2024."
After winning the presidency and then defying predictions of a midterm wipeout, Biden's team, due to confidence or arrogance, thinks it has a better read on voters' moods than their critics.
"Bidenomics is the president's economic agenda and it is strongly supported by the American people," White House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said, Politico reported. "That work and our message build on what the midterms and recent special elections proved: Americans favor the president's vision for growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up over trickle-down MAGAnomics."
Some Americans, though, definitely disagree.
"Gas is high. Inflation. So that's why I'm stuck in the middle," said Tone Woods, a Black building trades worker from Detroit.
Woods, who voted for Biden in 2020, said he's considering Trump in 2024 because "the economy was a little better when Trump was in office, to be honest with you."