John Harwood, CNN White House correspondent, and pervasive liberal media hack John Harwood, doubled his efforts Monday after a series tweets. CNN.com pieceIn which he stated that Americans are victims to “a charade” Fears about economic pain and inflation are the most common fears expressed by Republicans. After having been dragged on Twitter, he went on Early Start to spoon-feed this idiocy to CNN’s tiny audience.
Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett co-hosted the show, which was promoted enthusiastically by both of them. “Why Washington can’t have an honest debate about inflation” Harwood was argued by the former, as was boasted by the latter “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.”
Laura Jarrett was the daughter longtime Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett. She argued that Americans are in some sort of spell as to how “families are actually spending roughly the same and doing okay.”
Harwood was happy to agree and carried on his Team Biden talk points. “Charades do work and this one’s working very well. This is what polling indicates. But I think you have to step back a little bit and think about the content of the conversation.”
It 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. How are you going about reducing inflation? It isn’t Joe Biden’s issue to solve. It is the Federal Reserve that has to be solved.[.]”
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”):
HARWOOWD: [T]The recession question depends on whether they are able to reduce inflation through raising interest rates. Finally, Joe Biden responds as though he is under immense pressure to say that greedy corporations and gouging oil firms are responsible. That’s also not true. Companies can be greedy. Businesses are always looking to make a profit. Inflation is just a consequence of the way supply and demand are aligned right now. Strong consumer demand, supply chain issues. What is the reason consumer demand is so high? Trump and Biden both put money into people’s accounts to cushion the impact of inflation. But people don’t focus on this part. They’re more focused on the gasoline pump.
ROMANS: Yes. This is also true for two-tier households. When you take a look at the majority of households, it is clear that median income and high-income households are much more secure than after the Great Recession. But low income households still have a lot to be thankful for. It seems that the White House has been unable to demonstrate how Biden’s policies might help Americans with lower incomes, such as expanding child tax credits or other measures.
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”):
Americans are very distressed by inflation for many reasons. It drains Americans’ wallets and causes anxiety about the future.
Unfortunately, there is little to no political dialogue about inflation. The political conversation about inflation is largely a hoax, filled with enough artifice for everyone involved.
As would be expected from Republicans, the prosecutor is charged with indicting Democratic defendants.
(….)
These shocking allegations put the GOP in a good position for midterm gains. However, the allegations are not strong enough to support their claims.
(….)
It wasn’t just the Biden White House that believed inflation would last a year. The Federal Reserve was also responsible for controlling and monitoring inflation via stewardship monetary policy.
Media’s responsibility is to always hold the government accountable. However, the Fed is not elected and is relatively obscure.
(….)
If they can manage inflation at the margins, Presidents also have some options. This is where the Administration’s attempts to lower price pressures through easing supply chain frictions can be helpful. Also, record oil release from Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Even modest benefits can quickly be overshadowed by shocks from outside, such as new Covid Shutdowns in China and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine. Similar vulnerability could be caused by steps the Trump administration may consider but have not taken.
Twitchy is our friend mockedHis tweets are hilarious with the cackling headline “Dude, you HIGH? John Harwood DRAAAGED for INSISTING Biden’s inflation isn’t actually crushing Americans and HOO BOY.”
He tweeted his initial tweet. 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 wroteIn a second tweet, he said that people should contact the Federal Reserve and not Congress or President Obama.
He also sent a third tweet on Monday morning. 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
April 23, 2022
Eastern, 5:42 AMCHRISTINE ROMANS – Alright. Let’s start with the economy. Americans feel more anxious as their gas bills and groceries rise, while the stock market falls. The R-word is now and there are growing concerns about a potential recession. There are some signs of strength, but it is important to remember that there are also indicators of weakness. In the last month alone, more than 400 000 jobs were added to the economy. Pre-pandemic unemployment is at its highest level ever. Anyone with a 401k is now seeing their retirement funds shrink. This represents a loss of a little more than a year’s worth of gains. This is the longest losing streak for eight weeks since 1923. The S&P 500 on the verge of a bear market, that’s down 20 percent from its high. Although not all have a portfolio of investments, most people eat and drive. Right in the midst of travel season, gasoline prices hit record heights. The overall inflation rate is now higher than ever before, but there have been COVID disruptions and chip shortages. Supply chain bottlenecks are also causing an increase in inflation. It’s a lot and reflected in our most recent polling —
LAURA JARRETT :
ROMANS: — 77 percent of Americans say current economic conditions in the U.S. are poor. John Harwood is the CNN White House Correspondent. Listen to John Harwood’s answers when he was asked by the President last night if America is heading for recession.
KEN THOMAS [TO BIDEN]Your opinion: Is a US recession inevitable?
JOE BIDDEN, PRESIDENT: [SCREEN WIPE]For the first time, our GDP will grow faster than China’s in four years. Is that to say we have no problems? We do. Our problems are not as severe as those of the rest, and they are less important than others. This is due to our internal growth.
ROMANTS: John, you acknowledged the bad gas prices. He used that word. It will be quite a ride, he said. This is true. Are they sending the right message?
JOHNHARWOOD: This is the most important message he could send. The question is: Is there a recession? It’s impossible to predict when, and most economists believe it won’t happen soon. There is always the risk of recession and, as you mentioned in the introduction, many economic issues are at the same time that make it very hard for Americans to handle. People are worried about their 401(k), and they’re also concerned about how much they spend at the supermarket. Politicians are also facing difficult times. Biden’s numbers have been so low that Republicans will do poorly in the November election.
JARRETT – John, it seems that Washington doesn’t have an open conversation on inflation. Your new article says it is largely a charade but that sometimes charades can work.
ROMANS: Right.
JARRETT – According to a CNN poll, 77% of people believe the economy is in trouble, even though families spend roughly the same amount and do okay overall. This tells you what?
HARWOOD Charades do work and this one’s working very well. This is what polling indicates. You need to look at the substance of the conversation. Republicans pretend that the problem of inflation was created entirely by Joe Biden. Around the globe, inflation is rising, though it may be a little higher than here. Biden’s policies could have played a role in this. The American Rescue Plan may have been too expensive. However, that is not what causes inflation. It’s Joe Biden’s problem every day, and we media people act like that. How are you going about reducing inflation? This is not Joe Biden’s problem. 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. Joe Biden finally acts like he’s under the pressure of all these questions about greedy corporations or oil companies being the cause. That’s also not true. Companies can be greedy. Businesses are always looking to make a profit. Inflation is just a consequence of the way supply and demand are aligned right now. Strong consumer demand, supply chain issues. What is the reason consumer demand is so high? Trump and Biden have put large sums of money in the bank accounts of Americans, which is helping to offset inflation. However, people aren’t focused on that, instead they focus on what they see at their gas station.
ROMANS: Yes. This is also true for two-tier households. When you take a look at the majority of households, it is clear that median income and high-income households are much more secure than after the Great Recession. But low income households still have a lot to be thankful for. It seems that the White House has been unable to demonstrate how Biden’s policies might help Americans with lower incomes, such as expanding child tax credits or other measures.
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. Joe Biden responded by saying that the unemployment rate is extremely low and that overall growth has been quite healthy. It is difficult to persuade people who are feeling so bad about themselves to appreciate the good things you’ve done.
ROMANS: It’s been 2 years since mass deaths and life-threatening public health crises erupted.
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, I’m so glad to be here.
HARWOOD: Absolutely.
ROMANTS: It’s a great piece. 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’re higher today. 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. These bounces are common as more people try to profit from low prices. Many people are asking how to bear-proof money.
JARRET: Right.
ROMANS: So much of what we just talked about with John Harwood —
JARRETT – It’s beyond your control.
ROMANS: — totally out of control. There are a few things that you can do. The first is that the employment situation remains very positive. Vanguard did the math. 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. The decision to leave paid off. So that is an 18% raise. So, there are people who are upgrading —
JARRETT: Yeah.
ROMAN: — in this economy. This is a great time to save money and pay off credit cards.
JARRETT : Yes, people.
ROMANS: Right.
JARRET: There are still some savings.
ROMANS: Absolutely. Credit card debt means more expense due to higher interest rates. Reduce your credit card debt if possible. The housing market is hot if you have the opportunity to sell your house. I know you are buying —
JARRETT: Yeah.
ROMANANS: Your poor thing is your poor thing.
JARRETT – I’m not in a position to offer anything.
ROMANTS: The market is for sellers. You might be able to make a move or downsize to this time. 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 average over time can be your friend. These are only a few things you can do if you’re in this situation.
JARRETT, That is very helpful. You said that I do not try to remember where my logins are. It is impossible for me to remember logins so I don’t bother.
ROMANTS: Forget your login.