Teetering banks put Biden between a bailout and a hard place ahead of the 2024 race

President Biden enters the Roosevelt Room on March 13 to talk about why the government backstopped all deposits at two failed banks. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

When President Biden explained why his administration stepped in earlier this month to rescue two failed banks, he cast it as a decision to help small businesses make their payroll.

And he was emphatic that he was not bailing out Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. "No losses will be borne by the taxpayers. Let me repeat that: no losses will be borne by the taxpayers," Biden said.