OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been taken to task by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy on more than one occasion and it happened again.
On Monday the two went toe to toe again as Doocy peppered her with questions on inflation and what President Joe Biden is doing about it.
“Following up on something you said earlier: If President Biden’s top domestic priority is inflation, why doesn’t he have more to show for it?” the reporter said.
“So, the President understands — and we’ve talked about this many times — that inflation is an issue. High — high cost — cost is an issue for the American people. And so, he’s been very clear about making that his number-one economic priority.
“And he has done the work. And he’s done the work with congressional Democrats, when you think about the Inflation Reduction Act, which is going to lower the cost for our seniors — millions and millions of seniors across the country — when you think about that $2,000 cap on their own Medicare prescription; when you think about the thousands of dollars that our seniors pay a month. Now, that’s going to be $2,000 a year, “ the press secretary said.
“That is the work that congressional Democrats and Republi- — and congressional Democrats and the President has done. Republicans did not vote for that at all.
“And what Republicans want to do is that they want to repeal that very historic piece of legislation that is also going to lower energy costs, that is also going to help fight climate change. They want to get rid of it,” she said.
“So, there is a contrast that we are going to make, which is how Republicans are actually going to make things worse and Democrats want to do the opposite and make things a little easier.
“I just talked about the hearing aids, which is going to help 30 million — 30 million Americans across the country,” she said.
That was when Doocy hit her with a fantastic question.
“But who exactly thinks the President is doing a good job on inflation? Because we’ve got a new poll that finds he receives his lowest job ratings on inflation — net negative 38 points,” he said.
“We understand that there are challenges that are in front of us here in this country. That is why the President has taken action to lower costs.
“Think about gas prices. You think about healthcare — healthcare premiums. You think about Medicare — again, beating special interests so that we can lower costs, so Medicare can actually be able to lower costs for senior citizens,” the press secretary said.
“When you think about all of these steps that he has taken to make sure that that is happening, Republicans — Republicans in Congress refuse — they refuse to be partners with us on this. They refuse to help us.
“If you think about the American Rescue Plan that has helped create an economy that is indeed resilient, that created jobs, they refused to help out,” she said.
DOOCY TIME: "[I]f [Biden's] top domestic priority is inflation, why doesn't he have more to show for it?"
KJP: "So, [he] understands…inflation is an issue…Cost is an issue for the American people, and so he's been very clear about making that his #1 economic priority" pic.twitter.com/jmJXsfAjMQ
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 17, 2022
Doocy: "Have [Biden's] economic advisors told him the general consensus now is that the American Rescue Plan has contributed to inflation?"
KJP: "Look, Sec. Yellen, who is incredibly well respected…has spoken to this…[His policies] are popular w/the American people." pic.twitter.com/LXLEaymw0Q
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 17, 2022
But he was not done.
“And to follow up on that, on the American Rescue Plan: Have the President’s economic advisors told him that the general consensus now is that the American Rescue Plan has contributed to inflation?” he said.
“Look, Secretary Yellen — who is incredibly well respected, as you know, in the economic space — has spoken to this. So I will leave her words speak to that — to the statement that you just made,” the press secretary said.
“Here’s the thing: What the President has done, the issues that he has worked on — when you think about Medicare, when you think about healthcare, when you think about energy costs, when you think about the Inflation Reduction Act, you think about the CHIPS Act — they are popular. They are popular with the American people.
“They understand — the American people understand, with these pieces of legislation that we have worked so hard to get across the line, that are now law, it’s going to change — change the lives of American people,” she said.
