Media top headlines October 15
In media news today, Don Lemon denies CNN 'lied' about Joe Rogan's ivermectin COVID treatment, Biden continues to exit without taking reporter questions, and a Washington Post columnist warns critical race theory is 'potent' in VA governor race
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who was eviscerated by critics Thursday for endorsing a tweet that claimed inflation and supply chain issues affecting the country were "high class problems," once ripped the Trump administration for being out of touch on price increases.
Klain, a prolific tweeter, made news for appearing to agree with Harvard professor Jason Furman, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.
Ronald Klain, the White House chief of staff, was criticized online late Wednesday after he retweeted a post from a Harvard professor that summed up our top economic issues as "high class problems." (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"Most of the economic problems we're facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn't have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem," Furman wrote in a tweet that Klain shared, saying, "This," with emoji hands pointing downward.
TOP WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL RETWEETS POST CALLING INFLATION, SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES ‘HIGH CLASS PROBLEMS’
(Twitter)
Since taking office, the Biden administration has overseen a rising inflation rate that reached its highest point in 13 years. The surge has been accompanied in a rise in prices for food, gas, cars, TVs, and a variety of imported goods.
RON KLAIN DEMOLISHED FOR ENDORSING TWEET CLAIMING INFLATION IS 'HIGH CLASS' PROBLEM
Many observers criticized Klain on social media, describing him as being "disconnected from reality," and suggesting he tell that to a single mom paying more at the gas pump and grocery store. Other critics questioned the message Klain was sending with the tweet, suggesting it wasn't a good one, especially for retirees and families whose wealth was "potentially being destroyed" by high inflation rates.
Republican communications guru Matt Whitlock unearthed an old tweet that Klain fired off before he had a job in the White House.
In March 2018, Klain responded to a tweet about then-Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks about the average family of four benefitting from tax cuts by writing, "Will he hold up a Campbell Soup can and argue that price increases for basic food items don’t really hurt the middle class? Because I think that is the Trump admin economic message of the day."
(Twitter)
President Biden announced a deal on Wednesday to expand operations at the Port of Los Angeles as prices keep climbing and container ships wait to dock in a traffic jam threatening the U.S. economy and holiday shopping.
Prices are jumping in large part because container ships are stranded at ports and because unloaded goods are waiting for trucks, leading to mass shortages and delays that have caused a longer than expected bout of inflation.
The rising costs are eating into worker pay, creating a drag on growth and driving Republican criticism of Biden just as his multitrillion-dollar tax, economic, climate and infrastructure agenda is going through the crucible of congressional negotiations.
Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie and Edmund DeMarche contributed to this report.
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