Biden on inflation: clueless or callous?

Biden on inflation: clueless or callous?
Judging by the gracelessness with which he tends to respond to questions about rising prices, Joe Biden appears to understand that inflation is his biggest liability heading into this year’s midterm elections. It was a question about inflation that prompted the president to call Fox News reporter Peter Doocy “a stupid son of a bitch” last month. And when Lester Holt asked the president about inflation in an interview that aired yesterday, he responded snarkily, “Well, you’re being a wise guy with me a little bit.”

Forgive the humorless tone, but…

Biden on inflation: clueless or callous?

Judging by the gracelessness with which he tends to respond to questions about rising prices, Joe Biden appears to understand that inflation is his biggest liability heading into this year’s midterm elections. It was a question about inflation that prompted the president to call Fox News reporter Peter Doocy “a stupid son of a bitch” last month. And when Lester Holt asked the president about inflation in an interview that aired yesterday, he responded snarkily, “Well, you’re being a wise guy with me a little bit.”

Forgive the humorless tone, but I suspect sassy clapbacks are not the best way for the president to answer questions about American households getting poorer in real terms under his stewardship of the economy.

According to much of the Biden-sympathetic parts of the media, the politics of the economy are a real head-scratcher: “Things are great. Why doesn’t the president get more credit?” The answer is that things aren’t great. Prices are rising faster than wages. The rest is noise. Why should households care how quickly the economy is growing if they are, in real terms, less well off than they were a year ago?

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s The Week, Nancy Pelosi replied to a question on inflation as follows: “People are saying, ‘Well, what we’re spending is causing’ — the fact that people have jobs always contributes to increase in inflation. And that’s a good thing. But inflation is not a good — you know, we have to contain that.” Although Pelosi acknowledged inflation was an issue, voters could be forgiven for thinking that the Democrats see the problem as little more than an unfortunate asterisk.

When Biden isn’t insulting reporters who dare to ask about inflation, the administration continues to make the absurd claim that its Build Back Better spending package would have helped bring down prices. Let’s accept the White House’s (bananas) logic that trillions of dollars in increased public spending would be deflationary. The bill doesn’t have the votes in Congress. It’s a nonstarter.

So why does the White House keep using it as an answer to the pressing question of what they are doing about inflation? Elsewhere, the administration halfheartedly pursues the red herring that corporate greed is to blame for increased prices. Again, to momentarily concede the economic argument to the White House, doesn’t that feel like a rather remote and long-term diagnosis rather than an answer to families’ immediate concerns?

It’s easy to mock proposals like the one put forward by Senators Mark Kelly and Maggie Hassan — a holiday from the gas tax — as gimmicky. (Both are in tough re-election fights and their measure would expire at the start of next year, when they hope to be safely re-elected.) But their plan would at least deliver actual relief to households frustrated by rising prices and demonstrate a clear acknowledgement that families are feeling the pinch.

Caught by surprise and on the backfoot, the White House initially waved away concerns about inflation and belittled anyone who thought the problem was more than “transitory.” Ever since, they have been desperate to avoid the matter. But out of sight and out of mind won’t cut it.

The problem may be difficult for them to solve, as a large part of the policy response is down the to Federal Reserve. But the politics of inflation requires more than a shrug from the president. While there may not be a big red button sitting in the Oval Office marked “lower prices,” the White House could at least appear to take the problem seriously. Biden could reallocate some of his time to hauling execs into the West Wing to thrash it out, donning a hardhat and heading to the ports, talking through a plan to lower gas prices.

Something. Anything. To be sure, these are gestures and little more, but what else does Team Biden think politics is about?

Instead we are stuck with a president scuttling backwards and forwards between the White House and his homes in his sleepy home state, angry and sneering whenever anyone mentions the country’s number one economic problem. A change of approach may or may not actually help fix the problem of rising prices, but it would at least put some much needed deflationary pressure on Biden’s steadily increasing disapproval numbers.

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Psaki fumbles with Afghanistan withdrawal fib

The Washington Post reports on declassified after-action analyses that paint a damning picture of the White House during the Afghanistan withdrawal. The documents detail the ways in which administration officials’ indecisiveness and reluctance to shutter the Kabul embassy put the mission at “increased risk.” As the Post‘s Dan Lamothe writes, “The assessments appear to affirm separate accounts of senior US commanders frustrated by what they characterized as sloppy, misguided management of the withdrawal.”

On Friday, Jen Psaki wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of the reports. She told the White House press room that it was “important to understand that there was no after-action report.” That evening, a document was published on the Post‘s website titled “Operation Allies Refuge: After Action Review.” Oops.

Old Crow fundraises off Trump’s latest insult

Cocaine Mitch? The Grim Reaper? Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is known to revel in nicknames that start as terms of abuse cooked up by his foes. “I revere all of my nicknames but Darth Vader was my favorite,” McConnell said on the Ruthless podcast last year. And so it’s not surprise that the legislative maestro has leaned into Old Crow, Donald Trump’s newest name for him. “It’s my favorite bourbon,” said the Kentucky senator last week.

He took it a step further over the weekend, inviting supporters to an “Old Crow” fundraising reception. Tickets came with a $1,000 price tag. But if donors stumped up another $4,000, they could take home a bottle of Old Crow signed by the man himself.