Biden’s Inflation Crisis Was a Competency Crisis
Joe Biden’s presidency has always had a whiff of improvisation, a tendency to sidestep reality for the sake of convenience. But rarely was this more evident than in July 2021, when he assured the nation that “no serious economist” was worried about inflation spiraling out of control. It was a statement as false as it was revealing, encapsulating the administration’s mix of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and wishful thinking.
In hindsight, this moment offers more than a clue to Biden’s broader failures—it serves as Exhibit A in the case that his presidency was, at its core, marked by incompetence and denial.
Biden’s dismissal of inflation concerns wasn’t just a verbal misstep. It was a bizarre signal that Biden wasn’t in touch with the policy discussion going on across the country.
Larry Summers, a Democrat and former Treasury Secretary, had been sounding the alarm since February of 2021, warning that Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan risked overheating the economy. Olivier Blanchard, an equally esteemed economist, echoed those concerns. Even Federal Reserve officials, publicly clinging to the term “transitory,” were privately grappling with the possibility of persistent inflation.
At the time, we saw Biden’s claim that such warnings didn’t exist as a deliberate untruth. Now it seems more likely that Biden was just kept away from Democrat critics of his policies.
As time went on, it was clear that the Biden administration’s blind spot on inflation wasn’t just about inflation. It was about the Biden administration’s broader inability—or unwillingness—to confront hard truths. Time and again, the administration doubled down on policies that worsened the very crises it sought to manage:
- Spending Overdrive: The American Rescue Plan wasn’t just unnecessary—it was reckless. The economy was already rebounding from the pandemic, with trillions in unspent stimulus still sloshing around. Injecting another nearly $2 trillion into the system was a surefire way to overheat demand.
- Energy Myopia: Biden’s early hostility to fossil fuels, from canceling pipelines to restricting domestic drilling, exacerbated energy price shocks when global supply chains faltered. Inflation wasn’t imported—it was built in Washington.
- Shifting Blame: When inflation finally reared its ugly head, the administration resorted to distractions, pinning the problem on corporate greed, shipping bottlenecks, and eventually the war in Ukraine. This scattershot blame game might have fooled partisans, but it didn’t fool voters.
The result? Inflation reached a 40-year high by mid-2022, crushing real wages and eroding household wealth. Whatever progress the administration might claim in reducing unemployment or passing legislation was drowned out by the palpable economic pain of everyday Americans.
What’s striking about Biden’s false inflation assurances is how they fit into a broader pattern of denial. This wasn’t the only issue where the administration seemed more interested in managing optics than tackling substance:
- Afghanistan: The chaotic withdrawal was defended as unavoidable, even as military experts had long warned that a hasty exit would create a vacuum of chaos.
- The Border: Record-breaking illegal crossings were dismissed as seasonal or overstated until the problem became too glaring to ignore.
- Crime: Rising violence in cities across the country was initially waved away, only for Democratic mayors to later plead for more policing.
In every case, warnings were ignored until reality became impossible to deny—and by then, the damage was done.
Incompetence All Along
A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted Biden’s mental decline, suggesting that his diminished capacity was an open secret among his inner circle. This would go a long way toward explaining the administration’s repeated missteps. But even absent that explanation, Biden’s presidency has been defined by a lack of curiosity and accountability—qualities essential for effective leadership.
The inflation debacle is a case study in how this administration operated: deny problems exist, deflect blame when they arise, and delay action until the damage becomes irreversible. Inflation wasn’t just an economic crisis. It was a political one that shattered trust in Biden’s competence and set the stage for his presidency’s eventual unraveling.
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