The Biden administration has provided too many excuses to keep track of regarding the state of the crippling inflation crisis that continues to take a heavy toll on hard-working Americans, especially as the winter season approaches and energy bills climb.
On Tuesday, the White House trotted the 80-year-old president out in public to take a head-scratching victory lap over the latest news regarding the Consumer Price Index, a core inflation marker, which rose less than expected in November, at 0.2 percent, but continues to remain sky high overall.
At the news conference, Biden was asked by a reporter when he expects prices to begin to normalize. Instead of throwing out words like “transitory” or “moderating,” the president admitted at the end of the conference that he doesn’t have a clue, sounding almost as if he’s completely lost control of the situation.
“Can you say when you expect prices to get back to normal, Mr. President?” the reporter asked.
“I hope by the end of next year we’re much closer, but I can’t make that prediction,” Biden said. “I just — I’m convinced they’re not going to go up. I’m convinced they’re going to continue to go down.”
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Biden’s non-answer generated plenty of justifiable criticism. Nobody expects Biden or any president to know precisely what will happen, but a general idea would have been nice.
“He’s really on top of his game isn’t he?” one Twitter user wrote.
He’s really on top of his game isn’t he?
— Holdfast Fight Gear (@holdfastfg) December 13, 2022
Another Twitter user wrote, “So he admitted prices under his administration are not normal?”
So he admitted prices under his administration are not normal?
— The Bart Man ?????? (@B4BartMan) December 13, 2022
Before his remarks about the future of inflation and where it will land, Biden said he believes the current numbers indicated “a lot of good news on the horizon.”
“We learned last month that the inflation rate came down, down more than experts expected,” Biden said, according to CNBC. “In a world where inflation is rising in double digits in many major economies around the world, inflation is coming down in America.”
Referencing the latest slightly-less-terrible CPI news on Tuesday morning, Biden took credit for the numbers, claiming it’s part of his “economic plan.”
“What is clear is my economic plan is working and we’re just getting started,” the president said. “My goal is simple: get prices under control without choking off economic growth; bring inflation down while keeping the labor market resilient; build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out; an economy with good jobs, good wages and for the long run, not a boom or bust economy.”
President Biden: “What is clear is that my economy plan is working, and we’re just getting started. My goal is simple – get price increases under control, without choking off economic growth.” https://t.co/eCHyMimceJ pic.twitter.com/fRPA6Yhm8d
— The Hill (@thehill) December 13, 2022
It’s fair to say that the U.S. economy under President Donald Trump, in many aspects, was much better than Biden’s version. But even when setbacks came up under Trump, he would at least provide the sense of leadership Americans need to hear during tough times.
President Biden, who seems perpetually confused and can barely read a teleprompter, doesn’t have to provide the perfect answer when questioned on such matters.
Still, he needs to exhibit the same optimism and leadership that Trump did. That’s all anyone’s asking.
Saying he doesn’t know when things will improve might be a shockingly unfortunate and honest assessment, but it’s not what the country needs to hear during these challenging times.
CORRECTION, Dec. 14, 2022: President Biden didn’t use the word “certain” in his comments about inflation. The original headline on this article suggested otherwise. It has been revised.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.