President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday he did not know about the infant formula shortage soon enough.
“I don’t think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility,” Biden said to reporters when asked why he did not act sooner to help end shortages.
Biden spoke to a group of baby formula producers during a live video event on his imitation White House set across the street from the actual White House in an attempt to demonstrate his commitment to solving the problem.
But Biden said he did not realize the problem until early April, even though formula-producing executives had sent messages to realtors warning of potential shortages.
“They did, but I didn’t,” he said shortly, referring to the CEOs.
NBC News reported Tuesday that Biden was upset with his staff.
One executive said they knew right away that the Abbott formula plant closure in February would be a problem.
“We knew from the very beginning this would be a very serious event,” the executive said.
Despite Biden’s assertion that he was taking the crisis seriously, he did not even publicly address baby formula shortages until May 13.
“We’re going to be, in a matter of weeks or less, getting significantly more formula on shelves,” he said at the time.
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