Friday morning brought catastrophic results showing inflation yet again at a forty year high. It was even bad enough to blow past expectations. Predictably, President Joe Biden's response involved blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin. White House Economist Cecilia Rouse tried to repeat that bogus excuse that same day, but not even CNN's Jim Sciutto would let her get away with it.
Biden economist Cecilia Rouse as prices spike at the highest rate since 1981: "So, [Biden] has, like, he has emphasized—he's focused on this.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 10, 2022
"I know this doesn't sound like a plan." pic.twitter.com/mE5NpOdSF5
Shortly after the numbers were release, Rouse appeared on "CNN Newsroom" where Sciutto directly asked her "does the White House see any relief in these numbers for Americans in the near future, and if so, when?"
Through her fumbled response, Rouse failed to give a proper response. "So, look, the president very much understands and we very much understand that that we've got uncomfortably high inflation. What we saw in the data this month was that month on month prices increased overall, the headline CPI increased about 1 percent, and about half of that was due to food and energy, which can be almost directly tied to Putin's invasion of Ukraine."
Rouse looked to continue by saying "and so" before Sciutto cut in. "It's not just that, you know," he said, as sounding less than patient with this administration's tactic to blame everyone else. "It's not--prices are rising, I get it. I get the world oil markets are up, but you know pricing are rising for everything: used cars, rent."
Faced with Scuitto's pushback, Rouse had no choice but to concede to his point. "Absolutely. And so, and the president understands that and so he has, like, he has emphasized he's focused on this as part of his plan, I know this doesn't sound like a plan, but first and foremost he respects the independence of the federal reserve."
In other words, it's the federal reserve's problem.
This is a tactic the Biden administration has used multiple times before, with President Biden himself also blaming Putin multiple times before for rising costs, especially with gas prices. The White House even tried to get #PutinsPriceHike to trend.
CNN is also not the only normally friendly outlet to go after Biden for his response when it comes to inflation.
Last week, an NBC News report gained considerable attention for highlighting how poorly Biden is faring, including when it comes to handling inflation which he just recently realized he needed to get a better handle on. POLITICO and The Washington Post similarly went after the president, with these outlets focusing even more so on inflation.
As Leah reported earlier on Friday, Biden is facing a record low for his average approval according to RealClearPolitics (RCP), which has him at 39.4 percent and a 54.9 percent disapproval. On the economy he's even worse, at 34 percent, while 60 percent disapprove.
Had Rouse actually sought to more deeply and better answer the question, her response likely wouldn't have been what people what to hear.
A piece about Rouse from Mother Jones in January of last year by Hannah Levintova noted that Rouse has experience focusing on "inequality." That's not entirely surprising, considering how much President Biden himself has acknowledged he's dead set on his nominees being dedicated to issues of "equity."
As Levintova's report mentioned:
Through her work as a labor economist and government official, Rouse has spent three decades steeped in the data, research, and policy thought underpinning these forms of inequality. Her academic research has focused on how workers, women, low-income students, and others face uneven opportunities, including extensive work examining inequality and discrimination. Other economists and colleagues say that background situates her well to help steer administration policy during and beyond this crisis.
...
Rouse has also carved out a particular focus on the economics of education, researching topics like college financial aid and how student loans affect employment choices. Shambaugh says such research will enable Rouse to serve “a crucial role” in crafting policy targeting the educational inequity issues—from student debt to college affordability—that Biden has vowed to prioritize.
That focus sounds a little bit too close to comfort when it comes to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his economic policy.