As U.S. markets tumbled on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made an about-face for the White House that had previously brushed off stock losses as something that didn't concern President Biden and weren't closely monitored by his administration — despite Biden's personal bragging about market performance earlier in his administration.
"As you know, we are watching closely," Jean-Pierre said of markets on Monday while responding to a question on the market crash that wiped out any remaining stock market gains made during the first half of Biden's first term. "We know families are concerned about inflation and the stock market — that is something that the president is really aware of," she claimed.
The question an Jean-Pierre's response came as the S&P 500 was trading below the level it closed at when President Biden was sworn into office, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq had previously sunk below their January 2021 levels — that is, market gains made since Biden took office are officially gone.
Less than one month ago, during the May 18 briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre had a very different answer about the White House's view of the stock market and what it meant.
"Nothing has changed on how we see the stock market," she said. "We do not- that's not something that we keep an eye on every day."
KJP last month: The stock market is "not something that we keep an eye on every day."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 13, 2022
KJP today, following a market crash: "As you know, we are watching [the stock market] closely." pic.twitter.com/UHX6VbNXb6
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Apparently, now something has changed, but which is it? Is Biden really aware of and closely watching markets as they fall, or is it something he doesn't keep an eye on every day?
Last fall, and at other opportunities, President Biden bragged about stock gains during his first months in office. "The stock market has gone up exponentially since I've been president," he said last September. There were countless pieces from mainstream outlet praising Biden for having "historic" stock market increases through his first 100 days. As recently as January of this year, in a case of pride coming before a fall — one that wiped out Americans' 401Ks — Biden said the stock market "has hit record after record after record on my watch."
That bragging, it seems, has been halted at a time when Biden and his party desperately need something, anything, to tout as an accomplishment.
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