In a recent speech, President Joe Biden made a comment about his economic legacy that inadvertently highlighted an ongoing issue within his administration. While discussing the American Rescue Plan, he joked about learning something from Donald Trump: the inclusion of the president’s name on COVID-era stimulus checks.
Biden remarked that Trump’s checks had his name printed on them, but his own administration’s checks did not, which he described as “stupid.” This comment, though meant in jest, reveals a broader political misstep and raises questions about the Democrats’ reluctance to embrace the kind of direct political credit-taking that they criticize in others.
Biden’s comment quickly became a point of humor during his speech, but it also underscored a key difference in approach between his administration and Trump’s. The Trump administration had ensured that their stimulus checks included a prominent message crediting the president for the financial aid, a move that many Democrats had criticized as politically motivated.
In contrast, Biden’s team opted to avoid putting his name on the checks, hoping to appear above political gamesmanship. This decision, however, did not prevent Trump from securing the public’s perception that he was the one responsible for issuing the checks, despite Biden’s role in the final round of payments.
Joe Biden
The refusal to put Biden’s name on the checks can be seen as a misguided effort to avoid the appearance of political manipulation. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained that the decision was made to expedite the payments, with no delay caused by the inclusion of a name.
However, this move resulted in a loss of credit for the Democrats, as Trump’s involvement in earlier rounds of stimulus payments remained prominent in voters’ memories. In essence, by attempting to avoid political gain, the Biden administration inadvertently allowed Trump to dominate the narrative surrounding COVID relief.
This pattern of avoiding political credit is not new for Democrats. A similar situation occurred during the Obama administration with the 2009 stimulus package. While it included tax cuts for workers, the administration deliberately chose a less visible approach by reducing the amount of tax withheld from paychecks rather than sending direct checks.
The intention was to encourage spending without drawing attention to the government’s role in the economic recovery. This decision, however, meant that Obama did not receive credit for the relief efforts, a mistake he later admitted to.
The article concludes by suggesting that the next Democratic administration should rethink its approach to economic stimulus. Instead of shying away from political credit, the author argues that future administrations should follow Trump’s lead and prominently feature the president’s name on relief checks. After years of avoiding this practice, the article asserts that it’s time for Democrats to embrace the politics of direct credit-taking when it comes to providing financial aid to Americans.
