Did Biden Really Joke About Leaving His Name Off Stimulus Checks? You Won’t Believe What He Said

In a legacy-focused speech on Tuesday, President Joe Biden advised the president-elect not to go back to “trickle-down economics,” claiming that Donald Trump will inherit the “strongest economy in modern history.”

However, Biden praised Trump for one choice: signing COVID stimulus cheques that were given to Americans, even as he claimed responsibility for the country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I signed the American Rescue Plan, the biggest economic recovery package in our history, during my first two months in office. Donald Trump also taught me something. “He signed checks for people,” Biden stated during a speech at the center-left think tank Brookings Institution. He laughed as he stated, “And I didn’t ‒ stupid,” but he also added, “But all kidding aside.”

Despite rising employment and a robust stock market, Biden has had difficulty persuading the majority of Americans that the economy is improving during his presidency.

Following rising inflation for the most of Biden’s term, poll after poll has showed that more Americans give Trump higher economic approval ratings.

It was speculated that because Biden didn’t put his name on his stimulus package, some Trump supporters who voted for him in last month’s election claimed to have enjoyed the checks he distributed during the pandemic.

Trump’s name appeared on the two stimulus cheques from his presidency $600 in December 2020 and $1,200 per income tax filer in March 2020, which are generally interpreted as an effort by Trump to get notoriety for a legislative package that Congress has authorized.

In contrast, Biden did not wish to postpone payment, thus his name was not on a $1,400 check that was issued to Americans in March 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan.

White House Council of Economic Advisers chairman Jared Bernstein told reporters Biden was “kidding” with his comment and that he doesn’t remember a White House discussion about showing Biden’s signature on the checks.

“Certainly those checks were instrumental in … getting businesses and consumers to the other side of the crisis,” Bernstein stated. “We gave people more buying power than they had at a time.”

Trump’s tax and tariff measures criticized by Biden

Even while Americans’ disapproval of the economy and inflation helped Trump defeat Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, in last month’s election, Biden spent most of his speech defending his economic performance.

Biden stated, “Four years later, we have proof the playbook is at least now working,” referring to an economic strategy he presented as the middle class’s main goal.

Biden claimed that Trump would inherit an economy that is “the envy of the world,” citing the Biden administration’s significant infrastructure expenditure, initiatives to lower health care costs for Americans, and investments to promote home production of clean energy and microchips.