Sandra Smith urges Democratic lawmakers to defend Biden’s ‘strong action’ on the economy: Sounds ‘out of touch’

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Fox News host Sandra Smith pressed Democrat Scott Peters in an interview Tuesday after he applauded President Biden for taking “strong action” to protect the US economy despite record-high inflation and concerns about an imminent recession.

During an appearance on America Reports, Smith asked Peters about the backlash Biden is facing after he touted “extraordinary” economic gains under his leadership at a convention earlier Tuesday.

“Well, two things can be true,” Peters replied. “I have to give President Biden credit for taking some vigorous action to avoid an even worse disaster. Growth has been historically high, unemployment is very low, if you want a job, you can work. And I think we have to recognize that people are feeling price increases at the pump and in the grocery store, and we have to do something about it.”

BIDEN ECONOMIC CONSULTANT SAYS WHITE HOUSE ‘DID NOT MISS MUCH AT ALL’ ABOUT INFLATION.

Smith asked Peters what he thought were effective steps the President was taking to keep the economy from deteriorating.

Jared Berstein said Monday that the White House hadn’t missed much on inflation.
(Screenshot/CNBC/SquawkBox)

Democratic lawmakers credited the government with distributing COVID-19 vaccines, sustaining businesses during the pandemic with PPP loans and providing rental subsidies to those in need.

“We knew we would borrow money to do it,” he said. “The economists told us that’s the right thing to do, that it’s better to go a little too big than a little too small, and we got through it… and now we’re dealing with some consequences of not just the American bailout plan, but the pandemic itself and the supply shortages that have arisen and, on top of that, a war in Ukraine that Putin is waging. So we have many challenges leading to this inflation.”

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Smith interjected, “You can understand for anyone listening how off-the-beaten-track it might sound. We’ve been in this inflationary crisis for quite some time and as you know, this is a major political concern for the Democratic Party heading into the mid-term elections.”

“Inflation is at the very top of the mind of the American people,” she continued. “The biggest concern of the American family right now is that their savings will go down, their bills will go up… so it’s hard for people to hear a government touting achievements and maybe even painting a rosy picture of America’s economy when so many people are suffering.” .”

Biden has been accused of appearing “flat-footed” in his response to inflation and the shortage of baby food.

Peters noted his involvement in the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of 98 Democrats formed to promote economic progress with an inflation working group that meets with economists, policy experts, and public and private sector stakeholders.

“I don’t disagree that people are suffering, and I also want to say that people are sick of people taking credit and blaming people and not really doing anything about it,” he told Smith.

“What we have come up with is a set of actions that we could take to address these issues, maybe not overnight, some overnight, but some over the long term, that’s our job in Washington,” he said. “I leave it to other people to blame. Maybe this is for elections. But I think people are suffering. We should talk about what we are going to do about it.”

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Peters announced the formation of the group in an op-ed published on FoxNews.com last week, where he acknowledged that “the pressing challenge of inflation requires all hands on board,” and wrote that the coalition would focus on “to take important actions to provide relief to Americans and to invest in U.S. economic resilience, competitiveness and innovation.”

Yael Halon is a reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected]