Democratic governor acknowledges likelihood of economic recession, says 'bring it on'

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At least one Democratic governor isn't brushing aside the idea of a looming recession in the U.S. economy.

In a Monday speech at a local gathering of supporters, Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly not only acknowledged the possibility of a recession, but had another message about a downturn in the U.S. economy and her state: "Bring it on."

"We have managed the budget so well that we now have done all of these things: We have paid down billions of dollars in debt, and we have still left in our ending balance a $1.5 billion surplus. And that doesn't count the now up to $950 billion rainy day fund," Kelly said of her administration's budget.

"We just finished out the revenue year, and by statute, we've got to put 50% of whatever we outdid estimates by. And so we took another – I don't know if you know that – $219 million more on top of the $750 [million] that was already there. So we are in really good shape," said Kelly, who is running for re-election in November.

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Gov. Laura Kelly delivers the keynote speech at the Emporia State University Constitution Day event in Emporia, Kansas, Sept. 17, 2019. (Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

"And you hear people talking about, you know, a recession coming. Bring it on. Because we now have enough money to be able to ride it out still funding everything that we're supposed to be funding," she said.

Kelly's acknowledgement that a recession could be on the horizon ran in stark contrast to President Biden and a number of liberal media outlets, who've dismissed the idea that the economy could be taking a turn for the worse.

Last month, Biden snapped at a reporter while on a trip to Delaware for suggesting a recession could be inevitable.

"Come on, don't make things up," he told the reporter, who had noted economists were saying a recession was "more likely than ever."

"Now you sound like a Republican politician, I'm joking, that was a joke, that was a joke," Biden said. "But all kidding aside, no I don't think it is. I was talking to Larry Summers this morning, there's nothing inevitable about a recession." 

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is interviewed by Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on May 24, 2017, in New York City. (Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

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Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who Biden mentioned, had appeared on NBC the previous Sunday and warned that a recession was likely to occur as it had in the past with high levels of inflation. 

A report from The Los Angeles Times published last month suggested a recession "may not be that bad" after it previously published multiple op-eds telling readers to "stop worrying about" inflation.

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan was criticized last month for mocking a restaurant owner concerned about a potential recession in a now-deleted Twitter thread.

"There is no recession. The US has been breaking records on growth and jobs. But, y’know, vibes," he wrote in the thread, including an embarrassed face emoji.

Economists don't appear to be sharing the same sentiment as those attempting to either avoid or spin talk surrounding a recession.

Last week, economist Stephen Moore appeared on FOX Business to warn that the economy was already in a "soft recession." He supported his argument by pointing to U.S. GDP data showing negative economic growth for the first half of 2022.

Gov. Laura Kelly delivers her inaugural speech in front of the state Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas, Jan, 14, 2019. (Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Kelly's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck, Kristine Parks and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.