Recent reports have suggested that President Biden's approval rating has risen in recent weeks, as Rebecca covered. But, last week, as I covered, a poll found that 57 percent of Americans blame President Biden for inflation, while 77 percent said that inflation is affecting their lives as the holiday season begins. Eighteen percent of respondents said that they believe the president is doing enough to address it.
One GOP congressman, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), a ranking member of the House Budget Committee, appeared in a Fox News interview Saturday where he shredded President Biden's handling of inflation, as well as his "Build Back Better" bill. In the interview, he described the bill as a "joke" and stated that he would give the president a grade "worse than an F" for his handling of the economy.
"If you can get a grade worse than an F, that is what I would give Joe Biden. He clearly does the opposite of what is necessary. The answer to addressing inflation was trying to pass another $5 trillion dollar spending package. That was the last thing that was done last week in Congress," Smith, who represents Missouri's 8th congressional district, stated in the interview.
"Right now, Americans are experiencing the highest prices. They just experienced the highest Thanksgiving that they've ever experienced in history. They're going into Christmas right now, with the supply chain crisis, the inflation crisis, the energy crisis, all at the hands of Joe Biden. So, I would definitely give him below an F," Smith added.
As Spencer covered, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimated that Americans' Thanksgiving dinner was 14 percent more expensive this year. But, despite this, Biden has claimed that there are elements in the "Build Back Better" bill that will solve inflation for many Americans and get the economy back on track.
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"It's a joke. This bill does three things. It bankrupts the economy. It spends $5 trillion dollars right now. It will fuel fire to inflation. The last thing that you need to do is to pour more government spending on the inflation fire. It benefits the wealthy. If you're a family who makes $45,000 a year in Farmington, Missouri, you'll get a tax break of $20 under the SALT deduction. But, if you make $4 million dollars in New York City, you'll get a tax break of $25,900 under his plan," Smith explained in the segment. "Guess what? It builds the Washington machine. It adds more than 150 different new federal programs, just to have more command and control over the lives of all working-class Americans. That's the wrong plan for America."
To wrap things up, Smith responded to a recent NPR/Marist College Poll that showed that inflation is the most important concern for voters regarding the U.S. economy, at 39 percent. Wages are second, at 17 percent. Labor shortages are at 11 percent, unemployment is at 10 percent, and both housing costs and gas prices are 9 percent.
"Since Joe Biden has become president on Jan. 20, inflation has gone up more than 7.4 percent. That's the highest in four decades," Smith said in the segment. "I hope President Biden will understand the effects that this inflation is having on real Americans."
