Nobody is accusing Don Lemon of being a conservative. But even the CNN host has had it with the White House’s economic claims and he let them know to their faces.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared on “Don Lemon Tonight” as part of a recent media circuit to try and spin the record high inflation and plummeting markets in Biden’s favor. Still, Lemon didn’t hesitate to dive right into the issue.
“Is the president being realistic about just how much this is impacting Americans and their pocketbooks?” Lemon asked Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre, attempting to not get caught up in the question, quickly deflected the price increase on Russia’s war with Ukraine.
“We got to remember, we’re thinking about gas prices and food,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is coming from Putin’s war against Ukraine. The moment that Putin amassed forces on the border of Ukraine, we saw from then until now, we have seen a $2 increase per gallon on gas.”
Instead of accepting her answer and dropping the issue, something the media was notorious for doing for Biden during the election, Lemon called out the Press Secretary’s excuse and dug in even deeper, tying the nation’s economic woes to Biden’s “American Rescue Plan”.
“[Experts] also say that last year’s stimulus package, which you mentioned, contributed to inflation, Karine,” Don Lemon said. “Does the Biden Administration bear some responsibility for this?”
The Press Secretary, who had just the other day bragged about a “booming economy” thanks to the stimulus package, tried to claim the plan put Americans in a position to weather the massive inflation and supply shortages before pointing to job growth as proof the economy is healthy.
“First of all, the American rescue plan met the moment, and it has put us in a place where we can actually put us in a place where the American people feel — can actually — we can take on inflation,” Jean-Pierre said. “What I mean by that is we’ve seen growth, right, with as I mentioned more than 8 million jobs. Now we’re transitioning into a steady, stable growth.”
Nationally average gas prices have exceeded $5 per gallon for the first time in history. The Consumer Price Index also rose 8.6% year-over-year in May, the highest jump since 1981. Do you think Biden’s policies have really done anything to help the American public? How has the American Rescue Plan affected your life?