DeSantis: ‘They’re Trying to Blame Putin’ but Biden Is Driving Us Toward a Recession

The Biden administration is trying to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for the country’s economic woes, but it is President Biden who is responsible for inflation and may plunge America into a recession, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Destin Harbor Boardwalk, where he announced the extension of the Sunshine State’s red snapper season, DeSantis provided a reality check to the Biden administration, which refuses to take responsibility for menacing economic issues — such as rampant inflation —  plaguing the country during Biden’s presidency.

“If you look what he did when he came in, decided to print trillions and trillions of dollars, and the result of that has been the worst inflation that we’ve seen in this country in four decades,” DeSantis said, emphasizing the toll it is placing on Americans.

“It’s killing people all across the board to have to pay so much for gasoline, have to pay so much for bills, have to pay so much for food … and they say it’s 8.5 percent, but if you look at the things that matter, it’s gone up way more than that,” he said of inflation, as the prices of key goods have gone up well over 8.5 percent.

Breitbart News reported some of the most striking hikes in food prices:

• Ground beef: up 13.8 percent
• Steaks: up 16.4 percent
• Bacon: up 18.2 percent
• Pork chops: up 13.8 percent
• Chicken: up 13.4 percent
• Fresh fish: up 11.3 percent
• Fresh whole milk: up 14.5 percent
• Coffee: up 11.2 percent
• Fresh fruit: up 10.1 percent
• Lettuce: up 12.0 percent
• Salad dressing: up 13.9 percent
• Soups: up 10.3 percent
• Baby food: up 10.8 percent
• Breakfast cereal: up 9.2 percent
• Bread: up 7.1 percent
• Biscuits and muffins: up 10.8 percent
• Lunch meats: up 12.7 percent

“They said it wouldn’t happen, then they said it was just a blip, and now they’re trying to blame Putin, but it’s been going up for over a year,” he said. “So this is a real problem.”

“And I think the fear is, is that what like they’re going to do — monetary policy, some of this other stuff — is really going to put a hamper on the economy potentially,” he said, adding that Florida is “well positioned to withstand some of that turmoil because we’ve been fortunate to draw a lot of investment.”

“But the reality is, if you look to three years out, there’s a not insignificant chance that Biden plunges us into a recession,” DeSantis predicted.