President Biden made his first appearance at the White House press briefing since taking office, highlighting the strength of the U.S. economy following a positive jobs report from the Labor Department.

This rare public address comes as the president has been increasingly less visible since suspending his re-election campaign in July. According to Axios journalists Alex Thompson and Neal Rothschild, President Biden has not scheduled public events for 43 of the 75 days since his announcement.

During his briefing, Biden praised the recent jobs report, stating, “The past two days, we’ve gotten some excellent news about the American economy.” He also pushed back against Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) social media claims that the report was “fake,” saying, “Anything the MAGA Republicans don’t like, they call fake. The job numbers are real. They’re sincere.”

Additionally, Biden expressed confidence in the integrity of the upcoming November election, though he raised concerns about the potential for unrest: “I don’t know whether it will be peaceful.”

Despite his recent absence from the public eye, Biden’s focus on the economy and election integrity remains clear. However, as Axios’ Stef Kight reported earlier, Biden has held fewer press conferences and interviews than his predecessors, even before suspending his re-election bid.