Jen Psaki warns economic report will show 'extraordinarily elevated' inflation and puts the blame on Putin
White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned that the next economic report could contain "extraordinarily elevated" inflation because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Psaki made the comments during Monday's media briefing at the White House.
"So, because of the actions we've taken to address the Putin price hike we are in a better place than we were last month, but we expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike," said Psaki to reporters.
"And we expect a large difference between core and headline inflation reflected in the global disruptions in energy and food markets. Core inflation doesn't include energy and food prices, headline inflation does, and of course we know that core inflation, you know, energy, the impact of energy of course on oil prices, gas prices, we expect that to continue to reflect what we've seen, the increases be over the course of this invasion," she added.
Psaki went on to try to directly attribute increases in gas prices to the invasion of Ukraine.
"And just as an example since President Putin's military build-up accelerated in January, average gas prices are up more than 80 cents, most of the increase occurred in the month of March, and at times gas prices were more than a dollar above pre-invasion levels," Psaki continued, "so that roughly 20% increase in gas prices will drive tomorrow's inflation reading, and certainly, it's not a surprise to us, but we certainly think it will be reflected."
The administration has been harangued by Republican critics and others who have pointed out that inflation had been spiking prior to the Russian invasion. The administration has tried to pin inflation on the pandemic, greedy corporations, and finally the Russians.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, an NBC News poll showed far more Americans blame high prices on Biden's policies rather than any of the other excuses the administration has made.
Here's the video of Psaki's comments:
Jen Psaki Warns of Extraordinary Elevated Inflation Datawww.youtube.com
Biden claims his global warming policies aren't to blame for price of gas skyrocketing
President Joe Biden claimed that his policies meant to fight global warming weren't the cause of skyrocketing price of gas at the pumps.
Biden made these dubious claims during a speech at the White House on Tuesday where he announced that he would order the Department of Energy to release 50 million gallons of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease gas prices.
He went on to blame oil companies and claim that his environmental policies had no effect on gas prices.
"I also want to address one myth about inflated gas prices. They're not due to environmental measures," he claimed.
"My effort to combat climate change is not raising the price of gas," he said, "or [increasing] its availability."
The national average for gas prices is up 7.5 cents over the last month, but $1.08 over the last year. Critics of Biden have pointed to comments he made targeting fossil fuel companies and saying that he would drive them out of business.
Biden also tried to reassure Americans about the cost of food rising ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Moms and dads are worried, asking will there be enough food we can afford to buy for the holidays, will we be able to get Christmas presents to the kids on time and if so, will they cost me an arm and a leg," Biden said.
"All these concerns a few weeks ago, there would not be ample food available for Thanksgiving, so many people talked about that, understandably," he added. "But families can rest easy. Grocery stores are well-stocked with turkey and everything else you need for Thanksgiving and the major retailers I mentioned have confirmed that their shelves will be well-stocked in stores this holiday season."
Inflation has also been worsened by a supply chain crisis that has crippled shipments from across the world. Economists say that restrictions against automation put in place by unions are partly to blame for the economic debacle.
Here's more about Biden's economy speech:
Biden says won't 'stand by idly' waiting for gas prices to fallwww.youtube.com
www.theblaze.com
freebeacon.com
Biden's Brain BREAKS, Claims There is 0% Inflation When There Is Actually 8.5%