Republicans are hoping that inflation – and the atmosphere – will outweigh Biden’s successful jobs reports

Republicans are choosing to ignore yet another landmark jobs report that has exceeded expectations and instead focus on the rising cost of living.

Stephen Moore, a senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic adviser to former President Donald Trump, argued that despite the positive jobs report, Americans were not more optimistic about the economy because of inflation. That, he said, gave Republicans an opening to target Biden.

“Every poll in the last two years has shown that people are feeling worse off. And partly because for most Americans, they are worse off,” Moore said. “So we continue to decry the Biden economy because it doesn’t work for middle-class Americans.”

Inflation, which Republicans have been anticipating for much of the first few years of the Biden presidency, has fallen significantly from its Covid-era peak in 2022, though it remains stubbornly above the 2 percent target of the Federal Reserve floats.

Knowing that a general election could hinge on the success or failure of the economy – real or perceived – Republicans have also begun cutting into the jobs report to find flaws.

The Republican National Committee’s rapid response shop has issued a statement It pointed out that of the 303,000 jobs added in March, net zero was in the manufacturing sector. It also noted that “unemployment has risen among key demographic groups, including women, Black Americans, and veterans.”

But even if parts of unemployment rise again (if they hold, as numbers may rise or fall after the initial report), the labor market overall is still incredibly strong, with layoffs at unusually low levels and labor force participation rising . And the president didn’t hesitate to take credit.

“Unemployment has been below 4% for more than fifty years. Wages are going up. Inflation has fallen significantly,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday morning.

It was good enough that White House Deputy Communications Director Herbie Ziskend labeled Biden’s statement on the jobs numbers as ‘Bidenomics’ — reclaiming a nickname Republicans used to describe a lagging post-pandemic economy.

David Malpass, who served as Trump’s assistant secretary of the Treasury for international affairs, conceded that the jobs numbers looked good but returned to a common Republican Party talking point: the national debt.

“Job gains are welcome, but government spending drives much of the gains,” he said in a statement to POLITICO. “Everyone sees the result: the national debt is through the roof.”

Still, there are risks to Biden’s rosy outlook. The Fed is keeping interest rates at punishing levels for now as inflation progress begins to level off. If price spikes continue to subside, Chairman Jerome Powell hopes to lower borrowing costs later this year, but he is in no rush to do so as long as economic activity remains robust and unemployment remains low.

Gas and global commodity prices are rising again, which could fuel inflation in ways the Fed is unwilling to combat.

The RNC Research account pointed to X that gas prices have “increased 50% since Biden took office.”

Meanwhile, the rising cost of living has continued to weigh on America’s assessment of the economy. Those sentiment numbers are improving, and wages are now growing faster than prices, but Biden is still neck and neck with Trump in the national polls, and is significantly lower in swing states. His overall approval rating is still underwater.

“Public sentiment on this issue is impossible to mobilize because the Biden administration has been so out of touch and American families remain under immense economic pressure,” said Michael McAdams, a Republican strategist and member of the National Republican Congressional Committee. .

And Republicans think this will continue and help them up and down the ballot.

“Voters overwhelmingly view Joe Biden’s economic policies as harmful to our country,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Mike Berg. “That’s why you haven’t seen any Democratic Senate candidates in a competitive race campaign on Bidenomics.”

With the election exactly seven months away, Moore said he was skeptical that inflation would disappear by the time voters cast their ballots.

“The problem right now for Biden,” he argued, “is not jobs.”

Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.