Biden fights talk of recession as key economic report looms

By JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

President Joe Biden wants to convince a skeptical public that the U.S. is not, in fact, heading into a recession. He’s sending that message in the leadup to the release of a key report on the economy’s overall health. The Commerce Department on Thursday will release new gross domestic product figures. Top forecasts are predicting that the figure will be negative for the second straight quarter — an informal signal that the country is stuck in a downturn. The Biden administration is pre-emptively telling voters not to judge the economy by GDP or inflation alone. Republicans see political chum in the water. They suggest the GDP report will show an economy in collapse.