Biden chides reporters for not being happy enough when reporting on economy: 'Gotta choose my words here'

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Biden chides reporters as not happy enough when reporting on his economy

President Biden derided critiques of the economy under his administration by suggesting reporters were only interested in driving negative coverage on the topic.

When President Biden was asked by the press why many Americans are concerned about the economy, he responded by claiming reporters are "not the happiest people."

Biden spoke to White House reporters following remarks on the latest jobs report Friday afternoon. He cited the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicating that the economy is doing fairly well and that employers added 336,000 jobs in September.

The president rebuffed concerns about the economy as merely a perspective pushed by the media. "Well, first of all, you heard the news today, too, they haven’t heard it," referring to the jobs report. "I think the 300,000-plus people that got jobs feel better about the economy."

Biden went on to allege the very nature of journalism is about emphasizing negativity to drive viewer and reader engagement.

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President Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Aug. 15, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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"Look, I gotta choose my words here, you all are not the happiest people in the world, what you report, and I mean this sincerely," Biden claimed. "You get more legs when you report something that’s negative. I don’t mean you’re picking on me, just the nature of things. You turn on the television and there’s not a whole lot about ‘Boy saves dog as he swims in the lake,’ you know. It is about ‘Somebody pushed the dog in the lake.’"

Biden argued that while there are legitimate concerns to have about the world, the American economy is not one of them. 

"I get it. But if you just listen to what’s going on around the world, there’s reason for people to be concerned. There’s reason for people to be concerned what’s going on in Russia, there's reason to be concerned about what’s going on with other parts of the world," he said. "I think that the American people are smart as hell and know what their interests are. I think they know they’re better off financially than they were before, that’s a fact, and all that data, all that polling stuff shows they are more positively about the economy than they’ve been, more positive about their jobs, et cetera."

President Biden speaks about inflation and supply chain issues in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

He concluded by suggesting, "I just think, let me put it this way: If you just watch what happened last week in the Congress, how excited are you going to be by much of anything?"

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FOX Business reporter Megan Henney contributed to this report.