Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the Treasury, bragged about what she called the “remarkable recovery” of the US economy after COVID, but she couldn’t explain why Americans don’t have confidence in the economy.
The host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, Katherine Kay, asked Yellen to explain why Americans don’t trust government spending.
“Madam Secretary, let me return to the optimistic portrayal of the U.S. economy that you just presented, where unemployment and inflation are declining,” Kay said. “The White House doesn’t understand why, with those good numbers, so many Americans are so negative about the economy, according to polls,” she said.
“It makes me question if it’s because they’ve experienced inflation before and are afraid it may return given the high oil costs Mika Brzezinski said and the 1.3% growth rate for the U.S. projection. There doesn’t seem to be a connection between the numbers we’re seeing and how people feel regarding the economy. How do you explain it?”
“I agree with you that there’s a disconnect, but I don’t have a simple and convincing answer,” Yellen said. The treasury secretary then went on a 3.5-minute rant in which he bragged about the Biden administration’s supposed economic wins. However, he mostly blamed the rise in gas and food prices on “supply bottlenecks,” “high inflation” and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The outbreak really hurt American children, families, and homes. We are having an amazing recovery,” said Yellen.
Yellen also said that Americans’ finances got better during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which was a bold claim.
“Polls show that Americans are aware that inflation is going down and that their finances got better during the outbreak. When Americans are asked about their own finances, they say they are doing well, which is interesting.”
The government spokesperson boasted about a “semiconductor and chips bill” and also “bipartisan infrastructure” expenditure, which she said is resulting in “huge investments in clean energy.”
Yellen has been in the news more than the Democratic Party probably wants her to be. In mid-August 2023, she talked about how she ate psychedelic mushrooms during a trip to China.
Is this the worst interview in history?
I don’t know…but I do love Yellen’s answer. pic.twitter.com/6qovbnlN9z
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) September 20, 2023
The U.S. government’s long-term credit rating dropped from AAA to AA+ earlier that month, which made Yellen distressed.
This happened after Yellen released over $1.3 trillion in debt throughout the first half of 2023. This put the country on track to issue nearly $3.2 trillion in debt in a single year. That would make the rate for 2022 about twice as high.
