President Joe Biden reacted sharply to Republican claims on Friday he was failing the American people by not addressing inflation.
“Now I hear Republicans today say that my talking about this strong record says I don’t understand a lot of people are still suffering. Well, they are. Or that I’m not focused on inflation,” he said. “Malarkey.”
Biden delivered a speech on the economy at the White House after a disappointing number of jobs were created in the month of December.
He accused Republicans of focusing on inflation because they refused to vote for his multitrillion-dollar spending bills that fanned the flames of inflation.
“They want to talk down the recovery because they voted against the legislation that made it happen,” he grumbled.
Wage gains weakened in December despite Biden’s repeated claim that higher wages help reduce the cost of inflation on American families.
Biden focused on the 3.9 percent unemployment rate in December, claiming “historic” progress.
“Today America is the only leading economy in the world where the economy as a whole is stronger than before the pandemic,” he said.
The president also claimed that he helped save Christmas by working to address port congestion and supply chain disruptions.
Cargo ships filled with containers dock at the Port of Los Angeles on September 28, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Grinch did not steal Christmas,” he said emphatically. “Nor any votes.”
He also addressed criticism that four million Americans quit their jobs in November.
“Americans are moving up to better jobs with better pay and better benefits,” he claimed, pointing to more job opportunities in the American economy.
Biden argued that more spending was needed to continue the economic recovery, demanding that the Senate move forward on his Build Back Better legislation that has stalled.
“We can do all this. We can do it without increasing inflation and without increasing the deficit,” he said.