Karine Jean-Pierre says U.S. not in a recession on 'The View': 'A transition into stable and steady growth'

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Karine Jean-Pierre says US economy is seeing 'a transition into stable and steady growth'

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the U.S. economy isn't in a recession and it was experiencing a "transition into stable and steady growth."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre joined "The View" hosts on Thursday and said that the latest GDP report did not indicate the U.S. was in a recession and instead said the White House sees it as being in a "transition." 

Co-host Sara Haines asked the White House press secretary about the report, which showed that the U.S. economy shrank 0.9% in the second quarter, making it the second straight quarter of negative GDP growth and therefore indicates the U.S. has entered a technical recession. 

"A new report out this morning shows that the economy shrank for a second straight quarter and some say we are officially in a recession, yet President Biden has said we are on the right path. A lot of Americans don’t feel that way. So is there a disconnect here, and is it going to get worse?," Haines asked.  

Jean-Pierre emphasized that Biden understands the "anxiety" that Americans feel with regard to the economy. 

"The View" host Sara Haines asks Karine Jean-Pierre about GDP numbers. (Screenshot/ABC/TheView)

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She said that if you look at prior recessions in U.S. history, "you see jobs lost." 

"That's not what we're seeing right now, right now we're seeing gains," she said, noting the 3.6% unemployment rate. "When you look at it more broadly, at the data, that's why we're seeing, what we're seeing, is that we're in a transition. We had this strong economic growth because of the work that the president has done in the past 18 months, and now what we're seeing is a transition into stable and steady growth." 

President Biden issued a statement after the GDP report came out saying that it was "no surprise that the economy is slowing down" as inflation remains at a 40-year high.

U.S. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

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Several administration officials and economic advisers set out to redefine a recession ahead of the GDP report release. 

"This is not an economy that's in recession," Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said on Sunday. "But we're in a period of transition in which growth is slowing."

Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese appeared to echo Yellen on Monday. "The definition of recession – which has been an issue that I know many of you have reported on as Secretary Yellen said on Sunday – two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of recession. It's not the definition that economists have traditionally relied on," he said. 

U.S. President Joe Biden, March 31, 2022.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

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The White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a blog post on July 21 that even if the GDP report showed a second quarter of negative growth that it was "unlikely" that it would indicate the U.S. economy is in a recession.