As RedState reported, a devastating economic report is on the horizon, with a second straight quarter of negative GDP growth all but certain. That means the White House has to come up with some kind of messaging to blunt the political reality that a recession entails.

One approach has been to try to redefine the term. Administration officials and the Council of Economic Advisors have been insisting that two straight quarters of negative growth, the traditional definition of a recession for decades (and the one you learn in econ class), no longer applies. You see, Joe Biden’s economy is “different,” and we must treat low unemployment as preeminent, ignoring the collapsing growth and staggering inflation.

As for Biden himself, he has decided to just lie to the faces of the American people because what incentive does he have to not do so? Here he is on Monday asserting that there won’t be a recession, which sounds a lot like his former proclamation that there won’t be an inflationary boom. Who would still believe anything this guy says?

Biden: "We're not gonna be in a recession in my view" pic.twitter.com/A9Y8TaQRhu

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 25, 2022

I hate to spoil the narrative, but we are already in a recession. The second quarter ended in June, and we know the official number will show negative GDP growth. Then there’s the fact that the yield curve has inverted, which has preceded every recession in modern history. Couple that with sky-high inflation, and there’s no doubt.

Biden wasn’t done insulting everyone’s intelligence, though. He then took the gas-lighting to the next level, asserting that we are currently in a period of “rapid growth.”

“ … My hope is we go from this rapid growth to steady growth. So we’ll see some coming down. But I don’t think we’re going to, God willing, I don’t think we’re going to see a recession.” (2/2)

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 25, 2022

Let me get this straight. A full six months of negative GDP growth is actually “rapid growth” in the US economy? On no planet in the universe does that make sense. It certainly doesn’t make sense here on earth. That Biden would even go with that line is either a testament to his senility or his rank dishonesty.

Worse, Biden then suggests that things will slow down further from here, likely because he doesn’t even realize what he’s saying. So we are going to go from negative growth to even slower growth? Does that sound like an economy anyone wants?

The bottom line is that this gas-lighting isn’t going to work. Americans know what they are feeling in their wallets right now. No amount of redefining terms or putting on a happy face is going to change that. Biden can keep smiling and pretending everything is fine, but everything isn’t fine. Americans can only hope things don’t get markedly worse before this incapable old man finally leaves the White House.