By now everybody’s heard the Biden administration’s attempts to deflect any blame for inflation and gas prices by branding the problems as “Putin’s price hikes.” Here are a couple recent examples:
With the biggest single driver of inflation being Putin’s war against Ukraine, @POTUS has taken action to blunt the impact of Putin’s Price Hike for families.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 20, 2022
The Major Economies Forum met today at a moment when urgent energy issues demand our action.
Russia's brutal assault on Ukraine has fueled a global energy crisis, driving up inflation worldwide.
We must work together to tackle inflation and mitigate the fallout of this crisis.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 17, 2022
Clearly Biden and his administration would like everybody to believe inflation is pretty much entirely the fallout from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Federal Reserve Chairman testified before the Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee today, and the Biden White House won’t be thrilled:
Powell: "Inflation was certainly high before the war in Ukraine broke out"
— Saleha Mohsin (@SalehaMohsin) June 22, 2022
Jerome Powell says that war in Ukraine is NOT the "primary driver" of inflation, despite the Biden administration's claims suggesting otherwise. pic.twitter.com/xvbJpdqlat
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 22, 2022
Most Americans (including even a majority of Democrats) aren’t buying Biden’s excuses for inflation, so the above reality check won’t come as a surprise to many people, though the Biden White House might send Powell a strongly-worded letter scolding him for telling the truth.
Recommended
He is trying to get fired. Telling the truth like that.
— Chris DeRosa (@ChrisDeRosa) June 22, 2022
That kind of honesty is going to end up getting punished.
Everyone says that EXCEPT for the Biden administration… Everybody!!! https://t.co/Zy2DcIOYO9
— Todd Wilson (@TDubb) June 22, 2022
Biden’s not fooling anybody, except maybe himself.
Oh Ds ears are gonna burn when they hear this. Wonder what Press Sec is planning to say now that her boss has been proven a liar once again. https://t.co/K1nyu4Ubn0
— Kristi (@Kristi_Weaver4) June 22, 2022
Karine Jean-Pierre might have to bring in John Kirby yet again to help with the spin on this one.
The best part is that a decade ago, Biden enthusiastically participated in a campaign to slander Mitt Romney for warning us about Russia. https://t.co/SMi5AE9LXx
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) June 22, 2022
This is from Powell’s opening statement:
Inflation remains well above our longer-run goal of 2 percent. Over the 12 months ending in April, total PCE (personal consumption expenditures) prices rose 6.3 percent; excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core PCE prices rose 4.9 percent. The available data for May suggest the core measure likely held at that pace or eased slightly last month. Aggregate demand is strong, supply constraints have been larger and longer lasting than anticipated, and price pressures have spread to a broad range of goods and services. The surge in prices of crude oil and other commodities that resulted from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is boosting prices for gasoline and fuel and is creating additional upward pressure on inflation. And COVID-19-related lockdowns in China are likely to exacerbate ongoing supply chain disruptions. Over the past year, inflation also increased rapidly in many foreign economies, as discussed in a box in the June Monetary Policy Report.
“Over the 12 months ending in April…”
Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year, and yet this administration keeps blaming Putin for inflation and gas prices that started going up when Biden took office.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member