Hiding behind sunglasses, Biden lies again

Democrats always know corporate media will help them

Jill Biden hates half of America

President Biden told Americans exactly one year ago Tuesday that the annual inflation rate of 5.4% would be “temporary,” and he was right, in the wrong direction.

Consumer prices have climbed to a rate of 9.1%.

The rise has been so historic that Mr. Biden and his aides have given up trying to predict when the inflation rate will ease. They label it “unacceptably high,” a term nobody disputes.

One Virginia restaurant has even started charging a 3.5% “inflation tax” to keep up with a variety of rising prices.

Mr. Biden’s overall and economic approval numbers have fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, below the worst poll numbers for Presidents Trump and Obama, according to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey.

The White House is girding for data later this month that could show the U.S. has fallen into a recession. Having been wrong about inflation easing, the president and his advisers nevertheless are not predicting a recession.

SEE ALSO: Biden’s approval rating plummets to all-time low of 30%

“Based on consumer spending, based on payroll employment, based on where the unemployment rate is, I think we can confidently say that these numbers that we’re posting are very much inconsistent with a recessionary call, given where we are right now,” White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said.

Others think the U.S. economy is already in recession and that forecasts colored by partisan goals are dubious.

“For those who told us inflation was ‘transitory,’ their current narrative is the recession will be ‘mild,’” tweeted Thomas Thornton, founder of the market research firm Hedge Fund Telemetry.

Economists at Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and other analysts are forecasting a near-term recession lasting into next year. A recession is defined as two straight quarters of negative growth. The U.S. economy experienced negative growth in the first quarter of this year.

With more potential bad economic news looming in the election year, the White House this week took credit for gas prices falling in July and criticized the media for not covering the story more robustly.

“President Biden’s top priority is tackling inflation and reducing prices, and his plan is working,” White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said in a memo. “The sustained, 34-day decrease in the price of gas is important news for families across the country. Yet the media is doing its own version of rockets and feathers — covering the spike, but not the drop. This is an issue that matters tremendously to American families and coverage should reflect the drop as intensely as it reflected the rise.”

Republicans called the White House’s message insulting after the average price of gas hit a record of more than $5 per gallon last month. That often meant $6 and even $7 in certain metropolitan areas and for the premium blends that some cars need.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel accused the president of lying a year ago about the path of inflation.

“Biden lied, Democrats rubber-stamped his failed policies, and now Americans are paying the price,” she said Tuesday. “Biden and Democrats continue to make up excuses while historic inflation and high gas prices wipe out wages. Voters know inflation has not been temporary, but one-party Democrat rule will be.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said the president’s prediction was “dead wrong.”

“One year later, after nine straight months of inflation over 6%, prices are now rising at their fastest rate in over 40 years,” Mr. McConnell said Tuesday on the Senate floor. “Real hourly wages are declining at breakneck speeds, dropping a full 1% last month alone. The average American worker got a full 1% pay cut just last month alone due to inflation.”

In Kentucky, he said, the average household is spending about $600 more per month because of inflation, and food bank shelves are running low. Mr. McConnell criticized congressional Democrats and the White House for proposing tax increases.

“The answer from Washington Democrats is alarming but not surprising,” he said. “After spending us into inflation, they now want to tax us into a recession.”

The CNBC survey found that just 30% of Americans approved of Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy, a 5-point drop from the survey in April, according to the poll released late Monday.

The president’s economic performance is supported by 25% of independents, 6% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats, a stunningly low number within the president’s party. That is significantly lower than either of Mr. Biden’s immediate two predecessors. Mr. Trump’s lowest economic approval rating was 41%, and Mr. Obama bottomed out at 37%.

Mr. Bernstein said the president knows there is more work to do. He said Congress could help by approving legislation aimed at reducing the costs of prescription drugs, spending more than $50 billion to encourage more domestic production of computer chips and taking other measures.

• Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.

• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.

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