White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for “61%” of domestic US inflation under the Biden administration on Friday, a slightly different – and lower- figure than the one previously cited by Democrat President Joe Biden.
“I mean, we saw and I talked about this a little bit earlier, even as it relates to the, the inflation data that came out today,” Psaki said. “We know that 61% of [inflation] is driven by energy costs, by Putin’s invasion into Ukraine.”
“And we need to continue to take every step we can, whether that’s working with Congress, considering what authorities we have, uh, continuing to take steps to make sure we, uh, make sure the supply meets the demand out there,” Psaki continued.
PSAKI: "We know that 61% of [inflation] is driven by energy costs, by Putin's invasion into Ukraine." pic.twitter.com/38XzDLQndV
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 29, 2022
President Joe Biden cited a different number during a speech earlier this month, as reported by Valiant News.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world,” Biden said. “Ukraine and Russia are the one and two largest wheat producers in the world. We’re three. They’re shut down. We saw that in yesterday’s inflation data.”
“What people don’t know is that 70% of the increase in inflation was the consequence of Putin’s Price Hike because of the impact on oil prices,” Biden insisted. “Seventy percent.”
The POTUS then insisted that the US must “address these high prices, and urgently, for working folks,” without detailing any immediate plans under his administration for doing so.
During a speech on Thursday, Biden appeared to contradict himself over the prospect of a potential recession.
“Well, I-I-I-I’m not concerned about a recession,” Biden said. “I mean, you’re always concerned about recession, but the GDP, you know, fell to 1.4%.”
