During Joe Biden’s presidency, Congress has allowed some expensive programs to expire, and Biden is taking credit for the decreased deficit.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced questions about Biden’s remarks… and she refused to answer them.
One reporter from Fox Business News asked Thursday, “So, the President said that he has cut the deficit over the past two years. But isn’t that misleading for Americans because it was the COVID spending that ended that really brought that money down, as well as the President signing an increase in ongoing federal spending? And now the CBO is saying the federal deficit this year is $1.4 trillion and averaging $2 trillion until 2033.”
Jean-Pierre didn’t answer the question about the cause of the deficit reduction. She just sloganeered about Biden’s “fiscal responsibility,” and then she talked about all the deficit reduction that Biden is going to do very, very soon (I promise, guys!)
“So, look, the President has long made reducing the deficit and — and being fisi- — fiscally responsible as a priority. He did — he did that as a President. He’s — he believed that as Vice President and something he believed as a senator,” Jean Pierre said, according to the White House transcript.
She went on —
And — and, I think, look no further than his speech yesterday. Look no further, also, I guess, his speech — the State of the Union — where he said that he’s going to continue to cut the deficit by $2 trillion in his — in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2024 budget. And that’s something that you all are going to see on — on March 9th, when he push — puts forth his budget. And this is something that the President is completely committed to. And he has proven that he can do it just the last two years.
But here’s the thing: You have congressional Republicans who want to increase the deficit by $3 trillion. When you think about repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, when you think about extending the Trump tax cuts, that is $3 trillion that they are looking to balloon the deficit. And so, their plan actually doesn’t help what they’re — what they’re listing out that they want to do. And they also want to give tax cuts to the wealthy. That is what they want to do. That is how they’re moving forward.
The President has been very clear — you see it in his record, $1.7 trillion — and you’re going to see it again when he puts his budget out on March 9th.
The reporter followed up, “How does spending cuts in that budget as well as tax increases —”
Jean Pierre interrupted, “I’m not going to get ahead of the President. I’m just saying what he laid out to all of you yesterday: $2 trillion, he’s going to de- — he’s going to lower the deficit. And that shows fiscal responsibility, and that’s something that the President has talked about as Vice President, as senator. And he’s shown — he’s shown it. He has the receipts.”
She ended the meeting there.
Take a look —
"The president said that he has cut the deficit over the past two years, but isn't that misleading for Americans because it was the COVID spending that ended…?"
KJP: "The president has long made…being physic—fiscally responsible as a priority." pic.twitter.com/P7kQydsg15
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 16, 2023
The Horn editorial team