Last December, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) tweeted out a graph thanking President Joe Biden for how gas prices had gone down two cents from November 22-November 29, 2021, using a graph with a distorted Y-axis, no less. As Spencer highlighted six months later, though, that tweet has aged horribly, considering that the average price of a gallon of gas continues to reach its all-time high, with it now being $4.715. On Thursday, another self-congratulatory tweet came with regards to the baby formula shortage, yet another crisis, this time from President Biden's official account.
I’ve got an update on our efforts to bring more infant formula to the United States: We secured another 6.5 million bottles of safe infant formula from Nestlé. That means as of today, 94.5 million bottles of safe infant formula are heading to U.S. shelves. pic.twitter.com/1s4A5CphpB
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 2, 2022
"We secured another 6.5 million bottles of safe infant formula from Nestlé. That means as of today, 94.5 million bottles of safe infant formula are heading to U.S. shelves," the president's tweet reads in part.
Before one is too quick to celebrate, though, it's worth emphasizing that Biden indicates the bottles of formula "are heading to U.S. shelves," with no specific timeline given.
The title of the graph isn't any better, as it speaks to how "The Biden-Harris Administration has Secured Commitments to Import 94,500,000 Bottles of Formula Since May 19, 2022." Promises of "commitments" mean even less.
Others also took notice of how the president's tweet mentioned "bottles," which is a lot different than the cans of formula coming in, which can produce many bottles worth of formula.
Formula doesn’t come in bottles, this is a great way of skewing the numbers. 1 can is 30-60 “bottles”
— I am Jack's complete lack of surprise (@IamJackscomple4) June 2, 2022
Do you mean bottles or cans? There is a huge difference. Cans have about a week's worth of food, bottles have 1 meal worth for newborns, and parents can easily go through 100 a week.
— Seofra (@Seofragirl) June 2, 2022
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Our friends at Twitchy highlighted the tweet, as well as replies from people pointing out this isn't exactly something that should get people as excited as Biden is hoping it will be.
GP "[H]eading to U.S. shelves" is not "currently on U.S. shelves."
— The Gormogons (@Gormogons) June 2, 2022
When do you inflationary, supply chain crippling bumbling idiots expect to receive the formula by?
That and quantity are the most important metrics. https://t.co/847Cq5TKxn
Imagine if you'd started this 4 months earlier... you might have averted the crisis instead of watching it happen then reacting.
— John Taznar (@Taznari) June 2, 2022
And when will that formula actually hit the shelves? How much has at least shipped?
A commitment is not a confirmation, and might not even be binding.
— Andrew (@FinanceTX) June 2, 2022
What price did we agree to pay?
Also, when will it arrive?
Economics wise, this is boosting foreign GDP while increasing US debt.
Just a bang up job all around???? https://t.co/nIGZRgQTHv
Mia on Tuesday did a more in-depth analysis of the Biden administration's bungled response on this self-made crisis worsened by a failure to take action in time. She addressed what kind of formula is being sent where, and when as part of Operation Fly Formula. This included mentions from FDA Commissioner Robert Califf who told lawmakers during a Senate hearing last Thursday not to expect the shelves to be "replete" again until late July.
Many sounded the alarm months prior, back in February. This included Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who was especially blamed for her take on the shortage.
Last month, when Biden addressed he shortage, he did so because it's "all of a sudden it's on the front page of every newspaper." When it came to addressing the situation, Biden claimed the administration could have acted sooner "if we had been better mind readers" and claimed "we moved as quickly as the problem became apparent to us."
During Thursday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say who it was, though, that actually briefed Biden on the shortage.
"Really, Kelly O, he's briefed on countless priorities, he is the President of the United States, there are regular channels, he is briefed by his senior White House staff, and that is just the process we have," Jean-Pierre said to the reporter. "I'm not going to confirm who it was, I'm just letting you know that there are regular channels that we use and you know, it's senior, again senior White House staff that elevate issues to him when the time comes, and they're just regular channels. That's what I have for you today."
One reporter was NOT having it when Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say who briefed Joe Biden on the baby formula shortage. pic.twitter.com/8sfsWNa24G
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 2, 2022
The day before, on Wednesday, Biden claimed that "I don't think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility."
Further, the Biden administration has been repeatedly asked about the issue by members of the press. A compilation video of questions to do with what the administration has actually done from just Wednesday's presser alone comes in at 25 minutes.
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