The White House on Monday said President Joe Biden and the Democrats have created a “historic economic boom,” but even if inflation and gas prices are soaring, “the American people are well positioned to face these challenges.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was grilled during her daily briefing about the economy, with inflation recently hitting a 41-year high and gas prices topping $5 a gallon for the first time ever. One reporter asked about Biden once bragging about the stock market hitting “record after record after record on my watch.”
“All the gains from President Biden’s time in office have been wiped out,” the reporter noted.
“So, as you know, we are watching — we’re watching closely,” Jean-Pierre said. “We know families are concerned about inflation and the stock market. That is something that the President is — is really aware of. And so, look, we face global challenges. We’ve talked about this. This is — we’re not the only country dealing with what we’re seeing at the moment as it relates to inflation.”
“You know, Putin — Putin’s price hike, inflation, coming — coming out of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic — all of those things play a factor. And, you know — but the thing — the way that we see this is that the American people are well positioned to face these challenges because of the economic historic gains that we have made under this President — under this President in the last 16 months,” she said.
Jean-Pierre went on to say the economy is actually doing great.
“So we know — we know that the — that high prices are having a real effect on people’s lives. We get that. And we are incredibly focused on doing everything that we can to make sure that the economy is working for every — American people. But we are coming out of the strongest job market in American history, and that matters. And that — a lot of that is thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which only Democrats voted for that — Republicans did not — and it led to this economic boom — this historic economic boom that we’re seeing with jobs,” she said.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that the consumer price index rose 1% in May from the prior month, for an annual rate of 8.6%. That rate topped the 8.5% increase in March to reach a level not seen since December 1981.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.