President Joe Biden argued Tuesday that the policies laid out under his administration “help, not hurt” the fight against inflation.
The president discussed his plan to fight inflation, which reached a four-decade high in March, at the White House. Biden promised Tuesday that fighting inflation is his “top domestic priority” and noted he’s taking the issue “very seriously.”
“I think our policies help, not hurt,” Biden said when pressed by reporters on whether his administration takes some responsibility for soaring inflation prices. “Think about what they say. The vast majority of the economists think that this is gonna be a real tough problem to solve, but it’s not because of spending.”
WATCH:
The president also argued that Democrats “don’t really” control “all three branches of the government” because the Senate is split.
“You need 60 votes to get major things done. I’ve been pushing the things I’ve been proposing here … since I’ve got in office, and I need to get 60 votes to be able to even pass them,” Biden said, suggesting his plans have been foiled by that 50-50 split.
The president continued on to suggest Americans who believe his administration isn’t doing enough to combat inflation aren’t “focused.” (RELATED: New Ad Claims Biden Can Cut Gas Prices By 30 Cents Per Gallon ‘With The Stroke Of A Pen’)
“All they’re focused on, understandably, is the problem they’re facing,” Biden said. “And they know that a lot of it’s extremely complicated, and so they’re frustrated – and I don’t blame them. I really don’t blame them. There’s a lot we have to do.”
Biden noted that he has to “explain in simple, straightforward language what’s going on” to those Americans critical of his administration’s handling of inflation.
During Tuesday’s speech, the president pointed to both the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as reason for inflation – situations the administration has often blamed.
He spent a chunk of his remarks comparing the “two potential paths forward” in fighting inflation, propping up the Democratic plan and contrasting it with “the plan put forward by congressional Republicans.”