As the Biden administration continues to make excuses for the economic problems in the U.S., Fox News reporter Peter Doocy took matters into his own hands.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday showed the United States’ gross domestic product had decreased for a second straight quarter.
An economy shrinking for two consecutive quarters has generally been understood to constitute a recession, but the Biden administration has been attempting to change this definition in real time.
During Wednesday’s White House news briefing, Doocy sparred with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over the definition.
Doocy began by asking whether President Joe Biden’s plans contributed to inflation. Jean-Pierre said they had not despite evidence to the contrary.
“If things are going so great, though, then why is it that White House officials are trying to redefine ‘recession’?” Doocy followed up.
Jean-Pierre immediately got defensive and said, “We’re not redefining recession.”
“If we all understand a recession to be two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth in a row, and then you have White House officials come up here to say, ‘No, no, no, that’s not what a recession is. It’s something else,” how is that not redefining recession?” Doocy asked.
Jean-Pierre said Doocy’s definition of recession was incorrect, at which point Doocy pulled out the big guns. He quoted Biden’s National Economic Council director Brian Deese.
“Brian Deese said in 2008, ‘Of course, economists have a technical definition … of a recession, which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.’ And then yesterday he said, ‘Two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of a recession.’ What changed?”
Even after Doocy used the administration’s own words against it, Jean-Pierre would not admit the White House is attempting to redefine recession. She said there are “many factors, economic factors and indicators to consider.”
Biden took a similar approach in a Thursday speech during which he suggested the economy is “on the right path.” Biden cited new jobs and investment in semiconductor chips as evidence the economy is supposedly in a good place.
“That doesn’t sound like a recession to me,” Biden concluded before walking off the stage without taking questions.
Joe Biden says that the economy is doing perfect, says “That doesn’t sound like a recession to me,” and then leaves without taking questions. pic.twitter.com/fzZmFEvqmE
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 28, 2022
Of course, Americans who are struggling to afford gas and groceries would beg to differ, but Biden has shown he does not care about them. As long as he can twist random data to make it look as if his economy is not a disaster, he is happy.
The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. Instead, the Biden administration has chosen to lie about our economic crisis and continue down the path that led us here in the first place.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
