After the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday released figures showing a massive inflation spike in June, President Joe Biden put out a statement in which he downplays the findings and takes no responsibility for the economy.
Inflation shot up to 9.1 percent in June, per the BLS report, higher than the Dow Jones estimate. The figures, which include such day-to-day necessities as food and gasoline, show another month of the highest inflation rate in 40 years.
Around two-thirds of Americans say Biden is either "responsible" or "very responsible" for inflation, polling has found. Many economists, including former Obama administration officials, agree, as do a majority of Democrats. A majority of voters, meanwhile, say inflation is the most important issue facing the country, worrying Democrats ahead of November's midterms.
"The numbers seemed to counter the narrative," pushed by Biden and other Democrats, that "inflation may be peaking," CNBC reported. Biden first said in December that inflation had peaked.
Biden in his statement admitted that inflation is "unacceptably high" but said the report for June is "out of date." Inflation, he said, is a "COVID-related challenge, made worse by Putin's unconscionable aggression."
The president did not mention his $2 trillion stimulus bill, which Federal Reserve economists have found is significantly responsible for inflation. Nor did he mention his cancellation of the Keystone XL gas pipeline and moratorium on new gas leases.
Biden did mention that he wants to release oil from the United States's strategic oil reserve. His administration sold roughly a million barrels from the reserve to a Chinese state-controlled company that has ties to Putin, the Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday.
The president attempted to downplay the severity of inflation by pointing to last month's relatively more favorable core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy prices. He did not mention that the core inflation rate also exceeded estimates.