White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday expressed her frustrations with fellow Democrats for criticizing President Joe Biden on inflation.
Psaki spoke about what the White House was doing on inflation during a live taping of Pod Save America, a podcast run by former aides for President Barack Obama.
She urged Democrats and the hosts of the podcast to “do better” when talking about the issue.
“Oftentimes we get a little cannibalistic about what our own plans are and whether they are good enough or whether we are passing them fast enough or what have you,” Psaki said.
A growing number of activists continue criticizing Biden for not doing enough on the issue, particularly after his efforts to convince more moderate Democrat senators to vote for his multitillion-dollar spending agenda failed.
Psaki argued that Republicans had no plan to solve the issue of inflation, urging Democrats to attack the opposite party more.
“If you look at the other side, there’s nothing in the cupboard, they have zero plan, we all agree inflation is a problem, they have no plan to address it,” Psaki said. “We could be saying that more and I think it would help.”
She said the biggest impact on inflation was energy prices.
“No shit, right?” she said to the audience. “Anybody who goes and puts gas in your car, you know.”
Psaki argued the administration was taking “steps” to lower gas prices but did not go into detail.
Psaki pointed out that Biden still wanted to pass more government subsidies for child care, elder care, and health care to help Americans pay their bills.
She cited a frequent quote from Biden himself about politics: “‘Don’t compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative,'” Psaki said, referring to the choice between Democrats and Republicans.
She also highlighted the administration for suspending student loans and extending the deadline, helping college graduates deal with higher inflation.
“Nobody’s had to pay a dollar or cent, anything, in student loans since Biden has been president,” Psaki boasted.
During the interview, Psaki denied that President Joe Biden would go to Ukraine to signal support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite the president saying he was “ready” to travel there.
“He is ready. He’s ready for anything,” she said. “The man likes fast cars and aviators, he’s ready to go to Ukraine. We are not sending the president to Ukraine.”
But Psaki said Biden had other things to focus on.
“We should all be relieved about that. … You’re welcome, America,” she said. “We need him to do other things.”
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