Biden concedes recession is possible, but downplays likelihood

President Joe Biden speaks at the Volvo Group Powertrain Operations facility in Hagerstown, Md., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) more >President Biden on Tuesday conceded that the economy may be headed for a “slight recession,” though he said he doesn’t anticipate one.

The White House has for months downplayed the possibility of an economic downturn and even disputed economists’ consensus definition of “recession” as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, which the U.S. economy registered in July.

“I don’t think there will be a recession. If it is, it will be a slight recession — that is, we’ll move down slightly,” Mr. Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a rare prime-time…