On Thursday, CNBC’s on-air editor Rick Santelli, the very man who inspired the creation of the Tea Party, slammed the Biden administration for its ever-changing explanations of what is causing inflation to skyrocket.
Reacting to the news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whose report on Thursday revealed inflation had soared 7.9 percent on a year-to-year basis in February, the highest level in 40 years, Santelli said pointedly on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”:
Of course, this inflation news is going to be tough for the administration. Nothing, Joe, nothing, has been more politicized than inflation. Let’s hearken back to all the things we’ve been through. First, it was “transitory.” Then, “inflation is good.” Then we went to “corporate greed,” now we’re at “Putin.” Listen, it’s probably all of the above but no matter how you slice it, it’s all about commodities for the most part, and King Commodity is energy and most people in the United States are reminded of that about what, every three to four days when they go fill up their tanks.”
As Newsbusters noted:
This is not the first time Santelli has bucked the liberal media narrative on inflation. He ripped the Federal Reserve on Feb. 10 for dragging its feet on tightening monetary policy. Santelli unleashed: “Where’s the tightening been? Give me a break! We’re zero to 25. They’re still buying. … I don’t see any tightening. I can’t imagine that you have a microscope bigger than mine.” He wouldn’t let up: “The Fed has done nothing! The Fed has done nothing! Blah blah blah blah blah.”
In 2009, Santelli became a legend when he triggered the creation of the Tea Party. Responding to President Obama’s Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan, Santelli raged on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange:
You know, the government is promoting bad behavior because we certainly don’t want to put stimulus for it and give people a whopping eight or ten dollars in their check and think that they ought to save it. And in terms of modifications, I’ll tell you what: I have an idea. The new administration’s big on computers and technology? How about this president and new administration: how about you put up a website for people to vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages or would we like to at least buy cars and houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.
He turned away from the camera to face the people on the floor: “This is America! How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills. Raise your hands.”
He was serenaded with a chorus of boos.
Turning back to the camera, he fired, “President Obama are you listening?”
Then, the moment: “We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m gonna start organizing. … We’re gonna be dumping in some derivative securities.”