‘That’s Bidenomics at work': White House eager to take credit for retail sales bounce

• The White House took credit for December's strong retail sales numbers, which beat expectations due to higher levels of holiday shopping.
• Bidenomics is a central pillar of the president's reelection campaign, though voters still tend to hold the president responsible for their economic woes.
• Biden has instead tried to blame stubborn high prices on corporate junk fees and price-gouging.

The White House eagerly took credit Wednesday for December's strong retail sales numbers, which beat expectations due to higher consumer spending during the holiday season.

"That's not an accident, that's Bidenomics at work," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing.

Holiday shoppers spent more than anticipated at the end of 2023, after a year of inflation continuing to squeeze budgets. Retail sales popped 0.6% in December, above the 0.4% Dow Jones projection.

The Biden administration took credit for the optimistic report, playing it up like a feather in the president's cap.

"Because of Bidenomics, because of the economic policies that we put forward, we are seeing now a historic number of small business applications," said Jean-Pierre.

The White House reported last week that it had received nearly 16 million small business applications in the first three years of Biden's presidency.

"What that means is that small businesses, folks who are starting them, have the confidence in the economy to start a business" Jean-Pierre said. 

Wednesday's retail sales victory lap came hours after the White House took fresh aim at corporate junk fees, issuing new regulations on big banks for overdraft fees.

Biden's crackdown on hidden fees is part of his broader indictment of what he calls corporate price-gouging, which the White