Biden slammed for blaming Putin for rising costs ahead of Thanksgiving
'Outnumbered' panelists break down the factors contributing to inflation despite President Biden's claim that rising costs are a result of the war in Ukraine.
President Biden doubled down on his claim that inflation is a result of "Putin’s war" in Ukraine, sparking backlash from critics as Thanksgiving approaches and grocery prices continue to rise.
"Outnumbered" panelists sounded off on Biden, with co-host Emily Compagno noting this isn’t the first time the president has used this talking point.
"The White House's own data shows that inflation has been skyrocketing since President Biden took office, and that's well before the war in Ukraine even started," Compagno explained, as the cost of Americans' Thanksgiving dinner is expected to be 20% higher than last year.
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: U.S. President Joe Biden pardons Chocolate, the National Thanksgiving Turkey. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows turkey prices being 21% higher than in 2021. The USDA cited the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which killed 8 million turkeys this year, as being one of many factors driving costs. Other factors, the organization claims, include drought in the U.S. and the war in Ukraine.
FOX Business’ Cheryl Casone characterized the move to push blame onto Putin as "disingenuous."
"Inflation was building and building month to month after [Biden] took office before Vladimir Putin ever set foot or put one troop into Ukraine," Casone said Tuesday.
She then pointed to the administration’s spending of trillions of dollars in stimulus funding as an alternative explanation for inflation.
"Fox Across America" host Jimmy Failla clarified that the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbated the inflation problem, but he criticized the administration for failing to take corrective action on issues within the U.S.
"Anyone who actually believes that it's Putin's price hike, we should take their car keys now. They've clearly been drinking before the Thanksgiving dinner even started. His own Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has testified that inflation was going up for 14 straight months before Putin invaded Ukraine," Failla told the panel.
"The people are suffering – inflation. We're not changing course. We're not stopping spending. We're not boosting production. We're just, as Emily said, passing the buck," he said.
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Co-host Kayleigh McEnany said she doesn’t believe Biden’s claim that inflation is Putin’s fault.
"There are these things called facts. And Biden may not like them, but they do exist, and they are real," she started. "When he came into office, inflation was 1.4%. That is a very small number. It is now 7.7%."
McEnany echoed Casone in calling out the pandemic-era spending for having lasting negative effects on the economy.
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McEnany said Americans don’t believe the Putin talking point, but Compagno noted that the administration may truly believe that the war is causing prices to rise.
"It only exists in the gaslighting that this administration continues to put out," Compagno said. "In their minds, that actually takes place."
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