The Hill laments 'Republicans pounce' on stock market losses to blame Biden

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The Hill reported on Thursday that Republicans were pouncing to blame recent stock market losses on President Biden and said that the president has been able to "dodge blame" so far. 

"Republicans are increasingly tying the faltering markets to the White House, warning Americans not to vote for Democrats in November’s midterm election if they value their portfolios," the Hill report said.

The final estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis found on Thursday that the economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter in the three months ending in June, which meets the standard technical definition of a recession. The Gross Domestic Product shrank by 0.6% in the second quarter, the analysis found, which caused stock markets to sink. 

"Republicans’ efforts to tether Biden to the stock market come as the president has consistently seen poor polling over high inflation," the Hill reported. 

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) at Richard Montgomery High School on August 25, 2022 in Rockville, Maryland. Biden rallied supporters for Democratic candidates running in Maryland and to encourage Democratic voters nationwide to turn out in the November midterm elections.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

An August NBC poll found that a majority of registered voters believe the economy was already in a recession. The poll found that 68% of individuals believed the economy was in a recession while only 27% believed it wasn't. 

The Hill report cited multiple "political experts," including former assistant secretary at the Commerce Department under President George W. Bush, Bruce Mehlman, who noted a "historical correlation between stock market returns and election returns." 

"I think casting aspersions based on short-term stock price volatility doesn’t really make any sense to me. I think there’s so many different elements that are unrelated to whatever the politics of the day might be," Former chief economist at Commerce, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, told The Hill. "Just taking a myopic view and saying this is because of what the Biden administration has done, it just doesn’t make sense to me."

The report also noted that the Biden White House's "lack of focus" on the stock market was much different that former president Donald Trump, who mentioned it often. 

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In November 2021, CNN used the "Republicans pounce" framework to describe why the inflation crisis was a disaster for Biden. 

"None of these mitigating factors are stopping Republicans from exploiting the painful cost-of-living increases and prices at the pumps to slam ‘Bidenflation’ and to argue that the President's ambitious political program is squandering past economic gains," an analysis by Stephen Collinson said under the section of the aritcle titled, "Republicans Pounce." 

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks before signing the agreement for Finland and Sweden to be included in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the East Room of the White House on August 9, 2022 in Washington, DC. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Republic of Finland and Kingdom of Sweden applied for membership in the Cold War-era military alliance. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The New York Times similarly used "Republicans pounce" in November 2021 to describe the GOP's efforts to address parental rights in education. The outlet later changed their headline to say "Republicans seize." 

"After an unexpectedly strong showing on Tuesday night, Republicans are heading into the 2022 midterm elections with what they believe will be a highly effective political strategy capitalizing on the frustrations of suburban parents still reeling from the devastating fallout of pandemic-era schooling," the Times report said.