A poll by the Democratic Party-leaning MSNBC found the Biden administration’s narrative that Vladimir Putin is to blame for the biggest surge in inflation in 41 years isn’t working.
The news network asked, “Who or what do you blame for inflation?”
Only 6% blamed “Russia invasion of Ukraine” while the biggest plurality, 38%, blamed “President Biden and his policies.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic” received 28% of the vote while “Corporations increasing prices” got 23%.
See the MSNBC report:
Earlier this week, Politico headlined a story on an ABC News poll “Most Americans blame Putin and oil companies for higher gas prices, poll indicates.”
However, that poll didn’t ask respondents who was most to blame. Instead, it asked for a response, among a range of choices, to a number of different influences on the surge in the price of gasoline, which, in turn, has had a direct impact on the price of most commodities and products.
The question in the ABC News/Ipsos poll was “How much, if at all, do you blame each of the following for the recent price increases in gasoline?”
The categories were Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Democratic Party policies, Republican Party policies and oil companies. For each category, respondents were asked to select from “A great deal,” “A good amount,” “Not much” or “Not at all.”
Combining the answers “A great deal” and “A good amount,” a majority, 51%, said Joe Biden deserves blame, and 52% said Democratic Party policies. A total of 68% cast blamed on oil companies. But only 33% said Republican policies should be blamed and 24% Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the producer price index, which measures prices paid by wholesalers, rose 1.4% in March and 11.2% from a year ago. Those are both records for data going back to 2010.
The report came one day after the BLS reported the consumer price index for March surged 8.5% over the past year.
Gas prices already were surging to levels not seen since the Great Recession before Putin invaded Russia. Republicans point, among other causes, to Biden’s green energy agenda, including his cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. When food prices were soaring in December, White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed “the greed of meat conglomerates.” She got a reaction from the North American Meat Institute, which reprimanded her for ignoring the “fundamentals of supply and demand.”
Harris: ‘I acknowledge one must acknowledge’
Meanwhile, during a trip to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris was at a loss to answer a WPVI-TV anchor’s question about the administration’s response to the frustration and anger Americans are experiencing when they fill up their cars with gas.
“I acknowledge one must acknowledge that prices are going up, and that people are working hard and, in many cases, are worried about whether they can get through the end of the month and make it all work,” Harris said.
“What I can say is that people deserve to know that their president, that our administration, is concerned enough to do something about it, so that is what we are doing.”
Even voters in Harris’ home state of California aren’t happy with her performance, with only 35% of voters approving while 45% disapprove, according to a UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll.
See the vice president’s remarks:
KAMALA HARRIS: “I acknowledge one must acknowledge that prices are going up” pic.twitter.com/KR1uZZQ9RP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 13, 2022
“Putin Price Hike”. Maybe if they say it one more time it’ll fix the poll numbers
Reminder: Inflation was at 7.5% (40yr high) BEFORE Russia invaded Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/kbrF9B6p24
— Stephen Geiger (@Stephen_Geiger) April 12, 2022
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday argued inflation is even worse that the government’s figures and charged that the current surge is the “absolute consequence” of bad policies by Biden and his administration.
Many economists have insisted that a more accurate formula for calculating inflation – based on the methodology used in 1980 – indicates the annual rate is 19.5%.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia reacted to the inflation numbers in a statement Tuesday, describing the surge as a tax.
“Let me be clear, inflation is a tax and today’s historic inflation data tells another chilling story about how these taxes on Americans are completely out of control,” he said. “Hard earned wages and financial savings are disappearing faster every month as prices continue to climb, while the pain and frustration of spending more on everyday items lingers over us all, especially among those who can afford it the least.”
He noted that Americans “are seeing some of the largest increases in goods such as gas up 48%, beef up 16%, chicken and milk up 13%, and staples like coffee and eggs are up 11%.”
“When will this end? It is a disservice to the American people to act as if inflation is a new phenomenon,” he said.
“Putin’s Price Hike” is just another lie by the Biden administration.
8.5% inflation didn’t just happen, it’s caused by Democrat policies. pic.twitter.com/iY1d22J5P3
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) April 12, 2022
Manchin warned that “we cannot spend our way to a balanced, healthy economy and continue adding to our $30 trillion national debt.”
“The inflation number today is only the beginning unless we take immediate action to address the pain being felt across our nation,” he said. ‘This is one problem facing the American people that one political party alone cannot fix. The American people cannot wait any longer.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: The latest issue of WND’s critically acclaimed Whistleblower magazine (available in both print and digital versions) insightfully explores the rapidly growing runaway inflation being visited upon America by the Biden administration, and is titled “THE LOOTING OF AMERICA: How the elites are robbing everyone else through runaway inflation and skyrocketing prices.”
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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
