Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says he’s feeling good about where the U.S. economy is headed — even if consumers don’t quite feel the same way yet.
He said the disconnect is tied to the lingering sting of inflation and the anxiety it left behind.
In an appearance on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” Mr. Moynihan pointed to a few bright spots: consumer spending in November was higher than a year earlier, wages continue to rise, and unemployment remains “very low.”
“It’s pretty solid right now,” he said.
Republicans hope a strengthening economy and improving consumer sentiment will work in their favor as they defend their slim House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
President Trump and GOP lawmakers have been telling voters that they inherited an economic mess from former President Biden and Democrats and that their policies are putting the country back on the right track.
Democrats see things differently. They argue that Mr. Trump and Republicans contributed to today’s economic pressures through policies such as tariffs on imports.
That message resonated in last year’s off‑year elections, where Democrats notched wins across the country by hammering concerns about affordability and rising costs. They also accused Republicans of leaving behind working‑class and lower‑income voters.
Mr. Moynihan acknowledged that upper‑income households have seen the most significant year‑over‑year jump in spending.
But he said lower‑income households are spending more too — a sign, he argued, that “they’re putting more money in the economy than they did this time last year.”
Mr. Moynihan suggested the gloomy sentiment is rooted in what he called a “very strange” stretch of economic whiplash — starting with the COVID lockdowns in 2020, followed by massive government spending and a burst of inflation that outpaced wage growth.
“They saw the inflation in ‘20 and ‘23 and ‘24 that was on their minds, and they want to see it subsist, and it’ll take a little while to subsist, but as you go into 26, having come through 25, the incremental hit of that [inflation] would be lower,” he said.
