Biden criticizes 'red states' for mishandling their economies during the Covid years.

 In his interview with MSNBC, the president admitted that he "nearly focused too much on the policy and not enough on the politics" of the programs he enacted into law.

President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, on Jan. 3.

Jan. 17, 2025, 9:00 AM GMT+6

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, President Joe Biden criticized Republican-led states for their handling of their economies in recent years and admitted that Democrats could have done a better job promoting their achievements to voters.

"Red states really messed up in terms of how they managed their economies, manufacturing, and access to supply chains," Biden said in a taped interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O'Donnell. He explained why his administration had “invested more in red states than blue states” through various measures, after being asked about his economic response to Covid.

In the wide-ranging conversation, Biden reflected on his handling of the economy, which became a key issue in influencing voters' decisions during November's elections.

He acknowledged that Democrats, including himself, missed opportunities to better communicate their involvement in successful programs or infrastructure projects.

Biden stated that he made a “mistake” by “not getting our allies to acknowledge that the Democrats did this.”

"If Democratic legislation was responsible for a new bridge, let people know that this was something the Democrats did, that it was done by the party," he said.

"Ironically, I almost spent too much time on the policy and not enough time on the politics," he added.

Biden also touched on the topic of signing stimulus checks. He revealed that “it did cross my mind” to sign them, and noted that former President Donald Trump’s decision to have his name printed on the Covid relief checks “wasn’t a stupid thing for him to do.”

The 2020 law, which provided Covid relief, included paper checks with Trump's name. "It helped him a lot, and it undermined our ability to convince people that we were the ones getting this to them,” Biden said, referring to Democrats’ messaging around the subsequent Covid relief.

In March 2021, Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which aimed to stimulate the economy after the pandemic's devastation. Congress passed the bill along party lines.

A portion of the law allocated $1,400 direct cash payments to individuals within certain income brackets. The White House promoted the plan as sparking a "historic recovery across the country."

In his farewell address on Wednesday, Biden raised concerns about future threats to the nation, including an emerging "oligarchy" and the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex.

Thursday's interview was one of the few he has granted during his final weeks in office, having also spoken to USA Today earlier this month.