"I'm not here to take a victory lap": President Biden says Fed lowering interest rates is a "declaration of progress."

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he was not taking a “victory lap” after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years.

“No one should confuse why I'm here. I'm not here to take a victory lap. I'm not here to say, job well done. I'm not here to say we don't have a hell of a lot more work to do. We do have more work to do,” the president said in a speech before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “But what I am here to speak about is how far we've come, how we got here, and most importantly, the foundation that I believe built for a more prosperous and equitable future in America.”

“The Fed lowering interest rates isn't a declaration of victory; it's a declaration of progress,” Biden continued. “It's a signal we've entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery.”

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by 50 basis points, a 0.50 percentage-point cut — the first interest rate cut since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time the Fed reduced rates by a half-point, outside of emergency pandemic cuts, was in 2008 during the global financial crisis. The decision will lower borrowing costs — which affect mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards — but rates remain relatively high. A cut was widely anticipated amid signs that inflation is easing and the labor market is slowing, but the half-percentage point was larger than economists expected.

Biden argued the move was a signal to businesses around the country that better days are ahead:

“I believe it's important for the country to recognize this progress because, because if we don't, the progress we made will remain locked in the fear and negative mindset that dominated our economic outlook since the pandemic began.”