WASHINGTON — Since June, President Joe Biden had been freely peppering the word "Bidenomics" into his speeches and remarks mentioning the economy — 101 times, to be exact.
In doing so, he was attaching his name to a set of administration policies that most Americans don't believe have worked, according to recent polling. In an NBC News poll conducted this month, only 38% of respondents approved of Biden's handling of the economy.
Now, the word "Bidenomics" appears to have been dropped entirely from Biden's comments about the economy. He hasn't used it in public remarks since Nov. 1, when he likened Bidenomics to “the American Dream” in a speech in Minnesota.
The word was absent from Biden's remarks in Colorado on Wednesday, when he talked about the Inflation Reduction Act, and he didn't mention it at a campaign reception Tuesday. Nor did the word come up in Biden's remarks a day earlier on supply chains. It also didn't make its way into his speeches at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this month in California or his remarks at fundraisers in San Francisco and Chicago. The same goes for his economic speeches on Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.
"Bidenomics" branding, however, hasn't disappeared from the White House and the president's re-election campaign. Wednesday's event in Colorado was billed as a way to "highlight how Bidenomics is driving record investments in Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's district," according to a White House release.
The White House YouTube page similarly labeled Biden's speech Wednesday as "remarks on Bidenomics." The word was also plastered around the president's podium for his remarks in Colorado.
The absence of the word in Biden's speeches comes as some Democratic strategists and Biden allies have criticized the branding.
“I don’t like it, either,” Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., has said.
In response to a request for comment, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler cited Wednesday’s upwardly revised gross domestic product from the third quarter, to 5.2%, and said in a statement that “this story’s economic focus is on how many times the president has uttered a single particular word instead of highlighting the many ways his policies have lowered costs for middle class families, created millions of jobs, and made record investments so that America will own the future.”
“That’s what this administration and this campaign are focused on: delivering for the American people,” he added.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
The administration often links Bidenomics to the idea of growing the economy “from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.” While that wording made it into Wednesday's speech, "Bidenomics" itself didn't.
The White House has also used the word to contrast the president's policies to "MAGAnomics," a term Biden has used to describe the Republican economic agenda.
"The country should know the facts. They should know the choice between Bidenomics and MAGAnomics," Biden said in a Sept. 14 speech.
He has also tied Bidenomics to the American dream — doing so twice in his Nov. 1 remarks.
"Folks, Bidenomics is just another way of saying the American Dream," Biden said that day.
Other times, Biden has used the word to highlight investments, unions and efforts to empower workers.
"Under Bidenomics, we’re investing in industries of the future so that the future is made in America," he said in an Oct. 13 speech.
Making the move away from citing Bidenomics could be a positive sign for the president's re-election campaign, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said.
“Because ‘Reaganomics’ seemed to have taken hold, it made some sense to shop ‘Bidenomics.’ But it fell flat. It’s a little bit like Gerald Ford’s ‘Whip Inflation Now’ buttons. Nobody wants to be waving banners that say, ‘I love Bidenomics,’” Brinkley said. “So it’s probably a healthy sign that they’re retooling a campaign slogan to showcase what they feel are their administration accomplishments.”
