White House Denies Biden’s Policies Are Causing Inflation

(CNSNews.com) – White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied Tuesday that President Biden’s policies are causing inflation, instead continuing to blame the high price of gas on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.

“In some place in this country now, a gallon of gas costs more than people on the federal minimum wage are making in an hour. What does the White House want these people to do just stop driving to work?” Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked.

JEAN-PIERRE: The president understands what it feels like. Deese just spoke about this. Brian Deese was just here and talked about how he understands what it means for people who are sitting at their kitchen table and see gas prices go up. He understands that feeling personally or seeing prices of grocery store– of groceries go up in the grocery store.

This is something that he is inherently aware of, and he is doing everything that he can as Deese – Brian Deese was just here – his economic adviser, one of his top economic adviser, laying out what he is planning to do or continuing to do to make sure that we lower costs at the gas pump.

He also said, Brian also said that we are dealing with an unprecedented time with global challenges that we have never seen before, and that includes, clearly, the pandemic.

That includes Putin’s tax hike that we’re seeing this past couple of months that has had an effect on gasoline prices – a dollar and 50 cents went up since Putin has amassed his troops on the border of Ukraine. These are real global issues that has led to this moment, but the president is doing everything that he can to make sure that we address this issue.

DOOCY: You just mentioned Putin a few times as a reason for recent inflation. Do you guys think that any part of inflation this year is because of President Biden’s spending plans or is it all Putin’s fault?

JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say is we are – and Brian just spoke to this – we are at a historic place when it comes to the economy, when it comes to unemployment being at the lowest that we’ve seen in some time, when it comes to the president creating more jobs in his first term, his first year, than any other president – more than 8.5 million jobs. 

Now we’re going to a place where we’re going into transition, where we’re going to see an economy that’s more stable, that’s more steady. So that’s because of the American Rescue Plan that the president signed into law that no Republican signed– voted for, I should say, and all of that work in his first year has led us to a place where there are more jobs out there – more jobs are being created – that we are in a place where we’re seeing economic growth.

Now – and also, as I’ve stated, this is an unprecedented time with COVID. This is an unprecedented time with the war, and so that Putin has created and started on Ukraine, and so we have seen, data has shown us since these past couple of months, since the war, we have seen an uptick in gas prices.

DOOCY: So I guess the nice question would be does President Biden take any responsibility for his policies potentially contributing to inflation?

JEAN-PIERRE: His policies has helped the economy get back on its feet. That’s what his policies has done. This– when we talk about the gas prices right now, this indeed Putin’s gas hike. This is what we have seen in the most recent months of what we’ve seen at the gas pump, and so that is a fact. 

We’ve seen about 60 percent increase in the past several months because of the amassing and his invasion of Ukraine, and so the president– his goal right now, and what he is frustrated about is what the American people have to go through and what they are trying to deal with as they are around their kitchen table. So that is his focus right now.

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