President Joe Biden is desperately trying to blame Russia for inflation.
But during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was asked if the war in Ukraine is a primary driver of inflation.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) asked, “Given how inflation’s escalated over the last 18 months, would you say that the war in Ukraine is the primary driver of inflation in America?”
Powell responded, “No, inflation was high certainly before the war in Ukraine broke out.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Hagerty said, adding, “The Biden administration seems to be intent on deflecting blame and as recently as just this past Sunday spread the misinformation that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is the ‘biggest single driver of inflation.’ I’m glad you agree with me that that is not the truth.”
Watch the video below:
Jerome Powell says that war in Ukraine is NOT the "primary driver" of inflation, despite the Biden administration's claims suggesting otherwise. pic.twitter.com/xvbJpdqlat
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 22, 2022
As has been well documented, the Biden administration decided that Russia would be a good scapegoat for inflation.
For months, Biden and his officials have repeated the phrase “Putin’s price hike” or “Putin’s tax hike.”
However, a nifty graph from CBS News’ “Face The Nation” charts the path of inflation starting in Feb. 2020.
For most of 2020, inflation stayed below 2%.
It started to tick up in early 2021 and rose to nearly 8% before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The chart also pointed out when Biden’s COVID-19 spending package was passed, which some economists say helped fuel inflation.
Check out the graph below:
Even Face the Nation admits what’s driving inflation. pic.twitter.com/B25cfk8msy
— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) June 19, 2022
After the invasion, inflation saw a slight decrease in April before ticking back up in May.
While Biden has tried to blame Putin for inflation and gas price increases, polls have found that Americans aren’t buying it.
Instead, a majority blame the president’s policies for inflation. And a recent I&I/TIPP survey found that even a majority of Democrats blame Biden for inflation.
Powell’s comments surely can’t help convince Americans on the “Putin price hike” line.
