The Biden administration is following the president’s lead by refusing to take responsibility for the surging cost of gas and other struggles faced by the average American family.
Following Biden’s remarks that Americans must endure economic hardship for “as long as it takes” for Russia to be defeated by Ukraine before prices can go down, Brian Deese, White House Director of the National Economic Council told CNN that American families suffering hardships needed to understand that their sacrifice is for the greater good.
Deese, who previously served as the Global Head of Sustainable Investing at the investment management firm BlackRock, made his remarks on CNN’s Newsroom after co-host Victor Blackwell pointed out that U.S. officials indicated that the conflict in Ukraine could go on for many years.
“The military analyst, the Director of National Intelligence, they say that this could be a long war, measured in years. And I think everybody understands why this is happening,” Blackwell said.
“But is it sustainable?” Blackwell prompted, asking Deese, “What do you say to those families who say, ‘Listen, we can’t afford to pay $4.85 a gallon for months, if not years, this is just not sustainable?'”
“Well, what you heard from the President today was a clear articulation of the stakes,” Deese replied.
“This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm,” he continued. “But at the same time, what I’d say to that family, to Americans across the country, is you have a president administration that is going to do everything in its power to blunt those price increases and bring those prices down.”
The Biden administration’s repeated attempts to force blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the rising cost of gas, which they refer to as “Putin’s Price Hike,” has been contradicted by the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
Powell said last Wednesday that inflation was already high well before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
"No inflation was high … certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out," Powell told a Senate Banking Committee hearing when asked if the conflict in Ukraine was the “primary driver” of inflation and soaring costs. Fox Business reported.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. The Biden administration seems to be intent on deflecting blame,” replied Sen. Bill Hagerty, who pointed out that Biden “spread the misinformation that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was the ‘biggest single driver of inflation,’” just days before the hearing.
“I’m glad you agree with me that that is not the truth,” Hagerty told Powell.