On the heels of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell admitting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was not the primary driver of inflation in America, President Biden attempted to shift the blame for inflation on someone else, whining on Twitter again about “Putin’s Price Hike.”
Powell spoke on Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee, where Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) asked, “Would you say that the war in Ukraine is the primary driver of inflation in America?”
“No. Inflation was high before, certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out,” Powell replied.
Biden desperately trying to plant culpability for high inflation anywhere but on himself, later tweeted, “I’m doing everything I can to blunt the Putin Price Hike and bring down the cost of gas and food.”
I’m doing everything I can to blunt the Putin Price Hike and bring down the cost of gas and food.
I led the world to coordinate the largest release from global oil reserves in history, and I’m working to get 20 million tons of grain out of Ukraine to help bring down prices.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 22, 2022
Just in case the public missed his initial foray into blame-shifting, he continued, “The price of gas is up by almost $2 a gallon since Putin accelerated his military build-up, and those high prices pose a challenge for working families.”
The price of gas is up by almost $2 a gallon since Putin accelerated his military build-up, and those high prices pose a challenge for working families.
Today, I'm calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months to provide Americans some much-needed relief.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 22, 2022
Powell pointed out the diference between America’s inflation and other countries’, saying, “If you look at comparable large, advanced economies like ours, you’ll see inflation rates that are quite similar to ours and some cases higher or some cases lower … But there are important differences in the characteristics. Ours is more about demand. I would say that for most of the others, theirs is more about energy prices and things like that.”
In April, Biden ranted, “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world.”
“Ukraine and Russia are the one and two largest wheat producers in the world. We’re three. They’re shut down. We saw that in yesterday’s inflation data,” he said. “What people don’t know is that 70% of the increase in inflation was the consequence of Putin’s Price Hike because of the impact on oil prices. Seventy percent.”
As early as March 9, the Biden administration was blaming Putin for inflation; White House communications director Kate Bedingfield tweeted, “For months Putin has been saber-rattling, and for months gas prices have been going up – up 75 cents since he began his military build-up. This is the #PutinPriceHike in action …”
For months Putin has been saber-rattling, and for months gas prices have been going up – up 75 cents since he began his military build-up.
This is the #PutinPriceHike in action, and @POTUS is going to use every tool at his disposal to shield Americans from pain at the pump.
— Kate Bedingfield (@WHCommsDir) March 9, 2022
“The Consumer Price Index is currently running at 8.6 percent this May over last – the highest in over 40 years.” The Daily Mail pointed out.
“Last week, the Fed increased interest rates by 0.75% — the largest incremental rate hike since 1994,” The Daily Wire noted. “The central bank already hiked rates by 0.5% in May — the largest such increase since 2000 — after a 0.25% rate hike from near-zero levels in March. Interest rates are now at 1.5% to 1.75%, with more increases likely on the way.”