Biden Tries To Pass The Buck On Inflation Blame-Game

June 17, 2022
President Biden, who once vowed to "take responsibility instead of blaming others," insists inflation can't be the fault of his policies and said the notion that massive spending fueled it "is bizarre."

President Biden, who once vowed to “take responsibility instead of blaming others,” insisted in an interview that inflation couldn’t be placed at his doorstep. 

Biden’s comments came when an Associated Press reporter, during a sit-down interview, asked the President about the effect his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package had on inflation.

The President said there is “zero evidence” it started with that.

“You could argue whether it had a marginal, minor impact on inflation. I don’t think it did,” he said. “And most economists do not think it did. But the idea that it caused inflation is bizarre.”

While he’s right that it didn’t cause inflation – which is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, as pointed out by Milton Friedman – it most certainly didn’t help.

Had he read left-leaning Politifact, he would have learned “the general consensus is that it (COVID relief package) was a contributor” and that “some economists estimate that it added two percentage points to the rate” while others, “say it added up to four percentage points.”

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Biden: Inflation Isn’t My Fault

Associated Press reporter Josh Boak continued to press Biden, asking who the American people should believe – analysts warning the economy is headed toward a recession or the President who says “it’s the best look we’ve had in decades.”

The President wasn’t about to accept any blame and insists a recession is “not inevitable.”

“First of all, it’s not inevitable,” he said. “Secondly, we’re in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation.”

That’s when he shrugged off blame with an easily refuted statement.

“Isn’t it kind of interesting? If it’s my fault, why is it the case in every other major industrial country in the world that inflation is higher?” Biden wondered.

“I’m not being a wise guy,” he added. “Someone should ask themself that question.”

Well, someone did ask that question, and the numbers don’t square up. According to Trading Economics, the United States – at a 40-year high of 8.6% inflation in May – sits higher than 16 other industrialized nations or areas.

Lower inflation rates can be found in China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Switzerland, Indonesia, Australia, France, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, Italy, India, Mexico, Germany, and the Euro area.

As Agent 86, Maxwell Smart once said, “Missed it by that much.”

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Called Out Over the False Claim

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy got into a bit of a testy exchange with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over Biden’s claim that every other country has higher inflation rates than the United States.

“Why is the president saying that inflation is worse everywhere but here?” Doocy asked.

Pierre pointed the finger at the pandemic and, of course, “Putin’s price hike.”

All of this finger-pointing is odd coming from a President who made accepting responsibility a cornerstone of his campaign.

Here was his pledge:

Here we are nearly two years later, and the nation is further divided, he doesn’t take responsibility for anything, and, as he heads off for his fourth straight weekend in Delaware, Biden has definitely forgotten about you.

President Biden, in his interview with the AP, also retold the “good people one both sides” story …

… explained that Americans are “really down” because they’re mentally unwell …

… and falsely claimed he was “teaching” at the University of Pennsylvania after he served as vice president. The Austin American-Statesman reveals that Biden was paid over $900,000 during two years as a “professor” at Penn, but his job “involved no regular classes and around a dozen public appearances on campus, mostly in big, ticketed events.”

“I’ll take responsibility instead of blaming others.”

I rate that claim: False.

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By Rusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

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