David Axelrod, a former chief campaign strategist and senior advisor to President Obama, was also a former chief campaign strategist. In his Hacks on Tap podcast on Tuesday, he criticized the White House’s messages regarding inflation and higher gasoline prices.
Axelrod said that “then now they’ve undercorrected”. After a few days, Axelrod said, “You’re right, everything’s Putin’s price rises, not inflation’s fault.” This is also a lie that many people don’t believe. They are aware that inflation was a problem before. They also know that gas prices were much higher before inflation. This is still not the case. Putin is not responsible for all the economic problems.
He said, “What should Putin be blamed for, should be blamed on Putin.”
The Obama administration members and other lawmakers blame Putin. Kate Bedingfield (White House Communications Director) used the term “Putin Price Hike” to describe “gas prices that are rising — up 75cs ever since Putin started his military buildup.”
Nancy Pelosi (D.Calif.), Speaker, said Sunday that inflation “starts with Putin”. She also attacked the idea that government spending caused inflation.
“The government spending does exactly the opposite, decreasing our national debt.” It is not inflationary, she said.
Stephanie Cutter, who was also a advisor to Obama, joined Mike Murphy and Axelrod for a discussion on the handling of Ukraine’s crises by Biden.
Cutter mentioned an earlier poll that showed 50% Americans approve the president’s response in Ukraine.
She stated that he had not been at the 50% mark for issues in a while. That’s very encouraging. Only 20 days in and gas prices have risen to a record high. They are likely to go up further.
She cited Exxon’s most recent profit report and said that American oil companies had “collectively earned $200billion” in 2021. Cutter asked the president to explain his thoughts. He could look into price gouging or “try to hold them accountable”, or “call upon Congress for subsidiaries.”
His leadership is key. This cannot happen to the country. She stated, “He has to lead it through.”
Murphy stated that Biden was weak from the beginning and that recent polling numbers show him to be a “real chill”.