President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser claimed on MSNBC Thursday that the president is “as sharp as ever.”
Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Jared Bernstein’s comments came as Biden faced growing calls to halt his reelection bid over growing concern about reported cognitive issues since a June 27 CNN debate and a July 5 interview with ABC host George Stephanopoulos.
Bernstein claimed that the president often asked for details on economic reports either in person or over the phone when MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell asked if Biden was “still the person you worked with” during his time as vice president.
“I can unequivocally say that and it’s not just based on a couple of days or a couple of weeks or one data point, it’s based on a long relationship, as you just said. I was his chief economist when he was vice president and since then, I have been briefing him on economic reports exactly like this one,” Bernstein said, adding that he frequently briefed Biden on the economy, either in person or on the phone.
“The guy on the other end of the phone or sitting there in the oval talking to me about these reports is as sharp as ever and he is always asking exactly the right questions, sometimes forcing me to scurry back and figure out the answer to some of his tough questions,” Bernstein said.
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Biden’s Econ Adviser Insists President Is ‘As Sharp As Ever’ As MSNBC Host Relays Concerns pic.twitter.com/MCLblqcJ3F
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Bernstein claimed that Biden would ask probing questions about what the inflation data would mean for Americans sitting around a kitchen table.
“The president continues to press on exactly those issues in these very informative briefings we have been having for decades now.”
Bernstein later said that the White House was celebrating a “good economic report.” The Consumer Price Index rose by 3.0% year-over-year in June, slightly below economists’ expectations, but prices have climbed by over 20% since Biden took office.
Administration officials initially dismissed inflation concerns at the start of Biden’s presidency. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell predicted inflation would be transitory during an August 2021 speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, then admitted a month later that inflation ended up lasting longer than he “expected.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted she was wrong to underestimate the risk of inflation during a June 2022 CNN appearance.
Biden’s age and mental fitness were issues dogging the president’s campaign before Thursday night’s debate. On multiple occasions, Biden said he spoke with people who had died, including claiming Feb. 8 to have spoken with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl about the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, even though Kohl died in 2017.
Biden also claimed in February to have spoken with former French President Francois Mitterrand, who passed away in 1996. In September 2022, Biden asked for Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana, who was killed along with two staffers in an August 2022 motor vehicle accident.
(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/The White House)
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