Ron Klain, former Chief of Staff to President Joe Biden, acknowledged on Wednesday that the Biden government’s efforts to bring down prices for American consumers have not been successful. “Prices are still high, the price of gasoline is still high, other prices are still high, and people feel that pinch,” admitted Klain during an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes.” He added, “I think the President needs to make more progress on that.”
The remarks from the former White House Chief of Staff run contrary to claims made by the Biden government that inflation and prices are falling. President Biden has repeatedly asserted that his policies have reduced unemployment, cut consumer costs, and boosted the U.S. economy. According to polling data, however, American voters aren’t buying the President’s claims — which Klain acknowledged is a problem for Biden.
“I understand that people say, hey, I’m glad you have all these good things going on in the economy, I’m glad that there are jobs,” he told Hayes before adding: “But people want to see that their own personal pocketbook is better off.”
“People need more money in their pockets,” Klain concluded.
President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign also appears to have already tacitly acknowledged the economic reality for many Americans isn’t as rosy as the White House insists. The campaign appears to have abandoned the term “Bidenomics” after featuring it on the campaign trail late last year.
Klain isn’t the only former or current Biden official to acknowledge that grocery, gasoline, and housing prices remain restrictively high for many Americans. In February, Biden’s own Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that high prices are likely here to stay — while insisting it wasn’t the fault of “Bidenomics.”
