Biden says midterms not ‘referendum’ on him, claims deficit cut credit

President Biden insisted Friday that the Nov. 8 midterm elections aren’t a “referendum” on him while touting “a record decrease” in the federal deficit — despite the fact that it was elevated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his own first-year stimulus spending and again is on the upswing due to his cancellation of student debt.

“The election is not a referendum. It’s a choice. It’s a choice,” Biden said at the White House. “And the Republicans criticize my economic record. But look at what I’ve inherited. And what I’ve done and look at what they’re offering.”

The president claimed that in the “new deficit numbers there’s a record, a record decrease. It’s never happened before” and that “if Republicans get their way, the deficit is going to soar and the tax burden is going to fall on the middle class.”