Chris Lange, FISM News
President Joe Biden railed against “MAGA Republicans” Thursday for refusing to approve a debt ceiling increase unless Democrats agree to cut future government spending.
Speaking to a crowd of union steamfitters in Springfield, Virginia in his first economic speech of 2023, the president said Trump-supporting Republicans are intent on being the party of “chaos and catastrophe,” resurrecting his folksy mantra that “This ain’t your father’s Republican Party. This is a different breed of cat, as they say.”
Biden argued that Republican proposals would lead to higher inflation and sought to drive home Democrats’ claims that the GOP wants to cut Social Security and Medicare.
“Not on my watch,” Biden declared, adding that he will veto any legislation that makes its way to his desk that includes cuts to those programs.
The president said Republicans have kicked off the new congressional term by “cutting taxes on billionaires, raising taxes on middle-class families, and making inflation worse.” He called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) hardline stance on the debt ceiling as “mind-boggling.”
“I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip. In the United States of America, we pay our debts,” Biden declared.
In an attempt at indirect self-promotion, the president said that his administration has received criticism from abroad that his policies focus far too much on American interests, referring to subsidies for U.S.-made products included in last year’s legislative spending package.
“The hell with that,” he said.
The president, who is said to be laying the groundwork to launch a 2024 reelection bid, also touted his record on the economy, saying his policies have created more manufacturing jobs, lowered unemployment, and pulled in better-than-anticipated economic growth figures. With that, he vowed to veto any Republican proposals that would lower taxes on corporations, implement a national sales tax, or undercut his authority to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“Not on my watch,” he repeated, promising to “veto everything [the Republicans] send us.”
Toward the beginning of Biden’s speech, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wrote on Twitter: “If President Biden is so eager to speak on the economy, then he should set a date to discuss a responsible debt ceiling increase. We must finally address Washington’s irresponsible government spending if we want to put America on a better fiscal path.”