He isn't wrong. Here is the exact quote
“You know, one of the reasons our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden told Asian American and Pacific Islander donors Wednesday. “The reason - think about it - why is China stalling so bad economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia, why is anyone? Because they’re xenophobic, they don’t want immigrants.”
President Biden is known for being the most honest when speaking to donors, who tend to appreciate his insight. I don't consider this a "swipe" more of a critique.
The nations of East Asia are struggling because of lower birthrates below replacement levels. Immigration would help, although I'm not an expert on Asian economies and I don't know if more immigration would be immediate.
Isn’t the UK in a recession despite having more Indians than Welsh people at this point?
The UK seems to be barely getting out but Canada is in a per capita recession. In reality the US is just deficit spending by an insane amount.
There are several factors why the US has so far avoided post COVID recessions. I think its a combination of a big 2021 stimulus and the promise of future free money from BIF and IRA bills. But mostly an addiction to consumer spending.
I'm not sure deficit spending is why, since that was a problem before COVID. From my understanding the deficit has grown from an increase in entitlement spending. And less taxes collected from capital gains compared to 2022
https://taxfoundation.org/blog/federal-budget-deficit-2023/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/business/treasury-report-shows-1-7-trillion-deficit.htmlBut also the US never fully shut down during COVID compared to other nations
