President Joe Biden stated on Wednesday that he was not aware of the baby formula crisis hitting the nation until early April, which left many wondering just who exactly was advising the president and when did they decide to inform him of the severity of the crisis.
Biden hosted the press, as well as industry leaders, on Wednesday to address the lack of baby formula in the U.S. from the White House-crafted fake Oval Office — which he reportedly uses so that he can stay on a script from a teleprompter.
“Here’s the deal, I became aware of this problem, sometime in, after, in early April about how intense it was. And so we did everything in our power from that point on, and that’s all I can tell you right now,” Biden said.
Biden: “I became aware of this problem in early April”
It took Biden until May 13 to first mention the baby formula crisis. pic.twitter.com/N0lfVpWDa5
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2022
As pointed out by the Republican National Committee, Biden didn’t address the baby formula crisis until May 13. At the time, Biden claimed that his administration could have been better prepared for the national baby formula shortage if they had been better “mind-readers.” However, just a few days later, his top official at the Department of Health and Human Services appeared to contradict that statement, claiming that his department and the Food and Drug Administration had known about the issue since last year.
As The Daily Wire flagged, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told CNN, “From everything I’ve known, the FDA has kept me apprised of this from last year. We have been moving as quickly as we can.”
CNN: “You are satisfied with the government’s response throughout [the baby formula shortage]?”
HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra: “FDA has kept me apprised of this from LAST YEAR. We have been moving as quickly as we can” pic.twitter.com/5WRZa5chYg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 16, 2022
The Daily Wire also noted that “Biden’s own White House website says that on February 17, ‘the largest infant formula manufacturer in the country—Abbott Nutrition—initiated a voluntary recall of several lines of powdered formula.’ The White House claimed the federal government mobilized into action to get baby products onto the market as soon as they became aware it was an issue.”
On Wednesday, in light of Biden’s most recent remark, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “Who is the person in the West Wing who decided after six or eight weeks that this baby formula shortage was finally something that somebody should tell the president about?”
Jean-Pierre dodged the question by saying, “Look, again, I have to go back and talk to the president,” while claiming that because she didn’t see Biden’s question and answer session, she couldn’t comment upon on it because she wanted to do her “due diligence” in answering accurately.
DOOCY TIME: “Who is the person in the West Wing who decided after six or eight weeks that this baby formula shortage was finally something that somebody should tell the President about?”
KJP: “Look, again, I have to go back and talk to the President.” pic.twitter.com/axlh1nCjg8
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 1, 2022
On Tuesday, Bloomberg Government reported, “Out-of-stock rates spiked to 70% nationally for the week ending on May 21, up from 45% the prior week, based on data from the retail-tracking firm Datasembly.”