White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the unprecedented inflation Friday as “a good thing,” arguing that it means “more people are buying goods … increasing the demand.”
Psaki appeared on CNN’s “The Lead,” where she was asked if White House chief of staff Ronald Klain’s retweet of a claim that inflation and supply chain snarls were “high class problems” was “tone-deaf.”
Jen Psaki Defends Rising Prices: ‘Good Thing’ Because it Means ‘More People are Buying Goods’ pic.twitter.com/IaKVYVSCbR
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) October 15, 2021
“[D]oesn’t it seem tone deaf to say that rising prices and empty grocery store shelves are high class problems? Isn’t that a bit dismissive?” CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked his guest.
“Well, that’s not exactly what the tweet said, nor the retweet of the original tweet, which is what we’re talking about here,” Psaki said in response.
The White House press secretary then went on to tout the decreasing unemployment rate, adding that gasoline prices were low during the pandemic “because nobody was driving.”
“Now, more people have jobs. More people are buying goods. That’s increasing the demand. That’s a good thing,” she said. (RELATED: Households Could Experience 54% Jump In Heating Bills, Says Biden Admin)
“At the same time, we also know that the supply is low, because we’re coming out of the pandemic and because a bunch of manufacturing sectors across the world have shut down because ports haven’t been functioning as they should be,” Psaki claimed. “These are all things we’re working through.”
Tapper then brought the discussion back to Klain’s retweet, recalling that Biden’s chief of staff had criticized former President Donald Trump’s administration for inflation that he claimed at the time “hurt the middle class.”
“Why did Ronald Klain think that rising prices was a serious concern under Trump and not under Biden?,” the CNN host inquired.
The U.S. economy is currently experiencing its highest inflation rate since January 1991. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.4% in September, bringing the key inflation indicator’s year-over-year increase to 5.4%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has blamed high gasoline prices on the sweeping green energy policies, such as carbon tax. The price of oil rose by 60% over the past year, reaching a seven-year-high.