Joe Biden has quietly retired his campaign rhetoric about "Bidenomics" - a sign that the president fears the public isn't as sanguine about the economy as him.
An Axios report found that Republicans have largely made the term their own. Biden used the term for the first time in two months on Tuesday and it was in response to a question about why he had stopped saying it.
"Leading economists aren't making much fun of 'Bidenomics' anymore," he said at an event in North Carolina. "They're thinking maybe it works!"
In March, Republicans used the term 474 times while Democrats used it just 10 times, according to an analysis by Axios.
Biden frequently touted "Bidenomics" last year, but his use of the term has declined sharply since June, when he mentioned it 29 times.
The term was conspicuously omitted from Biden's hyper-partisan State of the Union, in which Biden sought to rile up his base with sweeping rhetoric attacking Donald Trump.
Still, there are few signs Biden intends to stop bragging about the economy, even if he is proceeding a little more cautiously than before.
In response to the Axios report, the White House said Biden "will continue talking about Bidenomics, which is a sharp contrast with congressional Republicans, who are siding with special interests and the rich over middle-class families."
"The president's economic approval is rising, and he is on the road touting his accomplishments that are widely supported and making a real difference in peoples' lives."
Memories of pre-pandemic prosperity under President Trump are still fresh, presenting Biden with a steep messaging challenge.
Although inflation has slowed since earlier in Biden's term, wages have not kept pace with years of inflation, and the cost of everything from groceries to housing is continuing to put pressure on many Americans.
In more bad news for Biden, the Federal Reserve remains cautious about cutting interest rates, citing the stubbornly high inflation numbers.
High interest rates have locked many homeowners into their current homes, while driving up already steep prices for buyers, making housing affordability a key issue in 2024.
Biden has pledged to fix the issue with tax credits, but experts warn this could aggravate the problem by driving up demand without an increase in supply.
