Biden Blames USA Downgrade On Trump

The new regime talking points are out – namely that Fitch downgraded the US credit rating from AAA  to AA+ on Tuesday because of MAGA Republicans and all things Trump.

But while Fitch cited “the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance relative to ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ rated peers” as reasons for the downgrade, the Biden administration is of course blaming Donald Trump and his supporters due to one portion of Fitch’s explanation: “a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years,” and that “repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management.”

Then on Wednesday, Fitch’s Richard Francis told Reuters that the downgrade was ‘due to fiscal concerns and a deterioration in U.S governance as well as polarization which was reflected in part by the Jan. 6 insurrection.’

“It was something that we highlighted because it just is a reflection of the deterioration in governance, it’s one of many,” he said, adding “You have the debt ceiling, you have Jan. 6. Clearly, if you look at polarization with both parties … the Democrats have gone further left and Republicans further right, so the middle is kind of falling apart basically.”

And so of course, the Biden administration is blaming Trump.

“This Trump downgrade is a direct result of an extreme MAGA Republican agenda defined by chaos, callousness, and recklessness that Americans continue to reject,” said Biden re-election campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz. “Donald Trump oversaw the loss of millions of American jobs, and ballooned the deficit with the disastrous tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.”

Ah, so now it’s the Trump downgrade™

Meanwhile, White House spox Karine Jean-Pierre also blamed Trump on Tuesday, saying that the White House “strongly” disagrees with the decision, adding “it’s clear that extremism by Republican officials — from cheerleading default, to undermining governance and democracy, to seeking to extend deficit-busting tax giveaways for the wealthy and corporations — is a continued threat to our economy.”

Biden administration officials shared their disagreement with Fitch ahead of an announcement on Tuesday, officials tell reporters: BBG

Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid to Fitch if Bidenomics was downgraded?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 1, 2023

Former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called the decision “bizarre and inept,” while former Obama economic advisor Jason Furman called the move “completely absurd.”

On Wednesday, CNBC wheeled out Jared Bernstein, chair of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and former Obama official, who similarly blamed Trump.

“I think again the timing issue is is Jermaine here. The deficit went up every year under President Trump. The debt to GDP ratio rocketed under President trump. It has stabilized admittedly at a higher level under this president but we’re doing all we can to try to ameliorate those tensions,” he said.

Bernstein reflected on the “cognitive dissonance” he felt at the downgrade amid the success of ‘Bidenomics’ commenting that “creditworthiness deteriorated significantly under President Trump for good reasons… and under President Biden, it started to track back up…”

Except that’s the exact opposite of what happened. According to the 100% non-partisan “market”, the creditworthiness of US Treasury debt improved almost constantly under President Trump and worsened dramatically almost immediately upon President Biden’s inauguration:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the downgrade was “arbitrary and based on outdated data,” adding “Today, the unemployment rate is near historic lows, inflation has come down significantly since last summer, and last week’s GDP report shows that the U.S. economy continues to grow.”

Yellen Says Fitch Downgrade Based on Outdated Data

She’s right: US interest expense is no longer $500 billion, it is $1 trillion now

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 1, 2023

CNN also blamed Trump, penning the headline: “Fitch downgrades US debt on debt ceiling drama and Jan. 6 insurrection.”

Meanwhile, some light reading for premium ZH subscribers.

In light of the downgrade with Fitch blamed on fiscal unsustainability, a repost:

Here Is The $1 Trillion “Stealth Stimulus” Behind Bidenomicshttps://t.co/OqgQIgN6MR

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 2, 2023