CNN White House correspondent and perpetual liberal media hack John Harwood doubled down Monday following a series of tweets of a CNN.com piece in which he insisted Americans have fallen victim to “a charade” (mostly by Republicans) consisting of fears about inflation and economic pain. After having been dragged on Twitter, he went on Early Start to spoon-feed this idiocy to CNN’s tiny audience.
Co-hosts Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett were more than eager to promote his piece, “Why Washington can't have an honest debate about inflation” as the latter boasted that Harwood argued “it's largely a charade, but sometimes charades work” based on CNN’s new poll showing “77 percent of the people think the economy is doing poorly.”
The daughter of longtime Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, Laura argued Americans are under some spell seeing as how “families are actually spending roughly the same and doing okay.”
Harwood agreed and went on with his Team Biden talking points: “Charades do work and this one’s working very well. That's what the polling shows. But I think you have to step back a little bit and think about the content of the conversation.”
The infamous 2015 GOP presidential debate moderator took aim at Republicans for “act[ing] as if the inflation problem was all created by Joe Biden” when it’s not his fault even though “The American Rescue Plan was likely too big.”
Claiming the media have been tough on him, Harwood came to his Dear Leader’s defense: “Those of us in the media act as if it's Joe Biden's problem to solve every day. What are you going to do about inflation? It's not Joe Biden's problem to solve. It's the Federal Reserve's problem to solve[.]”
Harwood gently critiqued Biden, but closed by insisting Americans have been worked up over “what they see at the gas pump.”
Romans made clear that “low income households aren’t” doing well, but most everyone else is in great shape and their inability to see clearly reflects on the administration not showing how helpful they’ve been (click “expand”):
HARWOOD: [T]he recession question...depends on how skillfully they can tamp down inflation by raising interest rates. And, finally, Joe Biden acts as if under pressure from all of these questions that greedy corporations or gouging oil companies are the reason. No, that's not the reason either. Companies are always greedy. Companies are always profit-minded. It just happens that the market forces of supply and demand right now are aligned in such a way that inflation is a result of it. Supply chain problems, very strong consumer demand. Why is consumer demand so strong? Because the U.S. government under both Trump and Biden put a lot of money in people's bank accounts, that is cushioning the blow of inflation, but people aren't focused on that part, they're focused on what they see at the gas pump.
ROMANS: Yes. There's also a two-tier angle of that. I mean, when you look at most households, median and higher households are in much better position they are today than they were after the great recession, but low income households aren't. I think the White House has struggled to try to break through with how some of Biden's policies could help those lower income Americans, like those expanded child tax credits and other things.
Harwood leapt at that point, fretting it’s almost impossible “in this environment for a politician to break through...when people are in a mood as sour as this one to convince them that they ought to be thankful for some of the things that you have done.”
Over in the actual piece, it was as if Twitter resident and White House chief of staff Ron Klain had made some heavy edits (click “expand”):
Inflation distresses Americans for very good reasons. It depletes their wallets, creates anxiety about the future and endangers the national economy.
The political conversation about inflation, however, is not very good. In fact, it's largely a charade, with enough artifice to go around among all the actors involved.
Republicans, as would be expected, play the role of prosecutor indicting a Democratic defendant.
(....)
Those dramatic allegations have placed the GOP in a strong position for midterm election gains this fall. But on the merits, they omit lots of contradictory evidence.
(....)
The Biden White House was hardly alone last year in believing inflation would be short-lived. So did the Federal Reserve, the government agency responsible for monitoring and controlling inflation through stewardship of monetary policy.
The media's role is always to hold government accountable. But the unelected, comparatively obscure Fed doesn't hold daily press briefings.
(....)
Presidents can also temper inflation, if only on the margins. Administration efforts to ease price pressures by helping smooth out supply chains help a little. So does the record release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
But modest benefits get swamped in a hurry by outside shocks, from new Covid shutdowns in China to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Steps the administration is now considering but has not taken, such as lifting selected import tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on China, would be similarly vulnerable.
Our friends at Twitchy mocked his tweets in a hilarious piece with this cackling headline: “Dude, you HIGH? John Harwood DRAAAGED for INSISTING Biden’s inflation isn’t actually crushing Americans and HOO BOY.”
In his first tweet, he used quote marks to dismiss the idea of inflation, saying that while “inflation is ‘crushing’ families,’” Joe Biden’s “pandemic relief has eased the pain” back “in real life” and that Moody’s believes “households are the for the most part in a good financial place.”
Harwood wrote in a second tweet that the group people should take their problems up with is the Federal Reserve, not Congress or the White House.
And in a third tweet late Monday morning, he blamed the Fed’s lack of daily briefings for having “warp[ed] the national inflation debate.” Oof.
Harwood’s latest unmitigated nonsense on behalf of his fellow liberals in power was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Booking.com and Gold Bond. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CNN transcript from May 23 (including more Harwood and Romans spin), click “expand.”
CNN’s Early Start with Christine Romans & Laura Jarrett
May 23, 2022
5:42 a.m. EasternCHRISTINE ROMANS: Alright, to the economy as we start the week, and growing anxiety as Americans see gas and grocery bills rising, the stock market falling, and the R-word now, growing concern about the possibility of a recession. Now, it's important to note here, there are signs of strength. The economy added more than 400,000 jobs last month. The jobless rate is now at pre-pandemic levels. But anyone with a 401(k) is seeing their retirement fund shrink, a little over a year of gains wiped out. The Dow just had an eight-week losing streak, the worst since 1923. The S&P 500 on the verge of a bear market, that's down 20 percent from its high. Not everyone has a portfolio but everyone eats and drives. Gas prices are hitting record highs just in time for travel season. Inflation overall is higher than it's been for decades, there are COVID disruptions, chip shortages, supply chain bottlenecks now that baby formula is hard to find. It's a lot and reflected in our most recent polling —
LAURA JARRETT: Mmhmm.
ROMANS: — 77 percent of Americans say current economic conditions in the U.S. are poor. We want to bring in CNN White House Correspondent John Harwood. And, John, the president last night, this morning, was asked if America is headed for a recession, listen to what he said.
KEN THOMAS [TO BIDEN]: In your view, is a recession in the United States inevitable?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: No. [SCREEN WIPE] Our GDP is going to grow faster than China's for the first time in four years. Now, does that mean we don't have problems? We do. We have problems that the rest of the world has, but less consequential than the rest of the world has and because of our internal growth and strength.
ROMANS: John, he acknowledged that gas prices are bad. That's the word he used. He said it is going to be a haul. He is right on that. Is he sending the right message here?
JOHN HARWOOD: Look, he's saying the only message he can send. Of course, on the question, is a recession inevitable, yes, it is, at some point. We just don't know when and I think most economists think it's not going to happen in the near term. But there is always a risk of recession, and as you indicated in the intro, there are a whole lot of economic problems that are swirling around at once that are very difficult for the American public to deal with. As you mentioned, people are anxious about the value of their 401(k)s. They're anxious about what they pay at the gas station and at the grocery store. And it's a very difficult time for politicians. That's why Biden's numbers are so bad and that's why Republicans are poised to do very, very well in the November elections.
JARRETT: John, you say that Washington isn't really having an honest conversation about inflation. In your new piece, you say it's largely a charade, but sometimes charades work.
ROMANS: Right.
JARRETT: And as that new CNN poll shows, 77 percent of the people think the economy is doing poorly, even if, overall, families are actually spending roughly the same and doing okay. What does that tell you?
HARWOOD: Well, you are exactly right, Laura. Charades do work and this one’s working very well. That's what the polling shows. But I think you have to step back a little bit and think about the content of the conversation. Republicans act as if the inflation problem was all created by Joe Biden. Inflation is surging around the world, somewhat higher here, and Biden's policies may have contributed to that. The American Rescue Plan was likely too big. But that's not the principle cause of why we have inflation. Those of us in the media act as if it's Joe Biden's problem to solve every day. What are you going to do about inflation? It's not Joe Biden's problem to solve. It's the Federal Reserve's problem to solve and that — the recession question we were just talking a minute ago depends on how skillfully they can tamp down inflation by raising interest rates. And, finally, Joe Biden acts as if under pressure from all of these questions that greedy corporations or gouging oil companies are the reason. No, that's not the reason either. Companies are always greedy. Companies are always profit-minded. It just happens that the market forces of supply and demand right now are aligned in such a way that inflation is a result of it. Supply chain problems, very strong consumer demand. Why is consumer demand so strong? Because the U.S. government under both Trump and Biden put a lot of money in people's bank accounts, that is cushioning the blow of inflation, but people aren't focused on that part, they're focused on what they see at the gas pump.
ROMANS: Yes. There's also a two-tier angle of that. I mean, when you look at most households, median and higher households are in much better position they are today than they were after the great recession, but low income households aren't. I think the White House has struggled to try to break through with how some of Biden's policies could help those lower income Americans, like those expanded child tax credits and other things.
HARWOOD: I'm not sure it's possible for — in this environment for a politician to break through. There’s sometimes when the political weather is just terrible and you can try, you can try to mitigate a little bit. You heard in Joe Biden's answer pointing to the things that are strong, that unemployment is very low, that growth has been pretty healthy. But it is very tough when people are in a mood as sour as this one to convince them that they ought to be thankful for some of the things that you have done.
ROMANS: And it's been two years of mass death and life changing public health crisis.
JARRETT: Yeah.
ROMANS: I mean, you can't —
JARRETT: You can’t discount —
ROMANS: — you can’t discount just how that has changed the psyche for now. John Harwood, it's so nice to see you.
HARWOOD: Absolutely.
ROMANS: The piece is great. I encourage everyone — we'll tweet it out to encourage everyone to read it. Thanks, John.
JARRETT: Thanks, John.
ROMANS: And let's just look at — you know, everyone is so concerned about their 401(k) starting the new week, stocks index futures bouncing. They are higher this morning. And that's what sometimes happens, Laura, when you have a market like the S&P 500 flirting with a bear market down 20 percent. You start to see these bounces as people look to take advantage of those low prices. But a lot of people have been asking, like how do you bear-proof your money, right?
JARRET: Right.
ROMANS: So much of what we just talked about with John Harwood —
JARRETT: Is out of your control.
ROMANS: — totally out of control. A couple of things you can do. First of all, the job situation, still very good. Vanguard crunched these numbers. Vanguard found that in the first quarter, people quit their job and went to a similar job in the same industry — so basically to a competitor — they saw an 18 percent pay increase. It paid to quit. And so that's an 18 percent raise. So, there are people who are upgrading —
JARRETT: Yeah.
ROMAN: — in this economy. It's always a good time to add to savings and to pay down your credit cards.
JARRETT: And people are.
ROMANS: Right.
JARRET: They have excess savings left over.
ROMANS: Absolutely. And credit card debt is more expenses because of higher interest rates. Pay down the cards if you can. If you are in the position to sell your house, you just heard about what a red hot the housing market is. I know you are buying —
JARRETT: Yeah.
ROMANS: You poor thing, you poor thing.
JARRETT: I am not in the position to sell anything.
ROMANS: It's a seller's market. This could be the time make that move to a new place or to downsize, right? If you’re close to retirement --
JARRETT: — take the cash.
ROMANS: — take the cash and then also about your portfolio, I mean, stay invested.
JARRETT: Don't pull all of your money out of the stock market —
ROMANS: Don’t — by the time —
JARRETT: — is what you're saying?
ROMANS: — by the time you freak out —
JARRETT: It’s too late.
ROMANS: — and find out what your 401(k) login is, you have already missed a 20 percent move. Dollar cost averaging over time is your best friend. So, those are just a few of the things that you can control if you are in that position.
JARRETT: That's really helpful. As you said, I don't even really try to keep track of where the login is. I try to lose the logins, so we just don't even look.
ROMANS: Lose the login.
