Jared Bernstein, the chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, met unexpected pushback from generally friendly CNBC after echoing President Biden’s claim that America’s economy was strong and among the best in the world.
The Daily Caller reported the exchange occurred on the “Squawk Box” with CNBC host Joe Kernen.
On Labor Day, Biden claimed America’s economy is strong and growing. The claim was disputed by various government agencies and news sources.
- A report from the Labor Department found the unemployment rate rose and nonfarm payrolls increased by 187,000 in August.
- Reuters/Ipsos noted about 40% approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a large increase in the number of Americans taking part-time positions as full-time employment has been waning.
Yet, Bernstein was adamant: “Bidenomics is working,” he said. “It is helping to build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out … and the labor market … is now supporting real wage gains.”
CNBC’s Joe Kernen began his response by saying, “I don’t want you to shoot the messenger, but …” Kernen then held up a copy of yesterday’s New York Post, which referred to Biden as a liar for telling a crowd on Labor Day that America had one of the best economies in the world.
Kernen also noted that Biden “constantly talks about cutting the deficit … when in fact it will be up $2 trillion [over] last year.”
Noting that Biden’s claims of spending reductions are almost all tied to emergency pandemic-era expenses, Kernen said. “Taken together, this leaves a very sour taste in most people’s mouths.”
Kernen then pointedly stated, “Only about 1/3 of Americans buy into your contention that Bidenomics is working … it’s not working.”
Bernstein responded by discounting the survey data Kernen shared and claimed his polling data showed 82% of Americans favor “capping insulin costs for seniors,” “81% of Americans favor … lower prescription drugs,” “75% favor lowering taxes to create more manufacturing jobs.”
The economic adviser claimed the above stats were directly tied to Bidenomics and proof America supported the president’s handling of the economy.
Bernstein then boldly claimed that “line after line, Americans agree on the importance of the components of Bidenomics. So it is an inaccurate narrative to declare that Bidenomics isn’t working or that it is not favorably received by people.”
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Following Biden’s declaration that the economy was strong and doing well, many took to social media to share their perception and evidence that the price of everyday goods has skyrocketed since Biden took office.
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