Biden Tells Americans to Buy Cheaper Raisin Bran Instead of Kellogg’s; DeSantis Roasts Crist: “The Only Worn-Out Old Donkey”; Buttigieg: Biden 2024 “Above My Pay Grade”

On 10/27/2022, President Biden told NewsNation that Americans dealing with high food prices should switch to cheaper brands rather than buying Kellogg’s Raisin Bran — “you’re gonna see them buy another raisin bran, which should be a dollar cheaper.” When asked why voters should choose Democrats “given record inflation,” Biden insisted “it’s not record inflation anymore. I’m bringing it down. Look at what we inherited!” The compilation also featured DeSantis roasting Charlie Crist in their debate — “the only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist” — DeSantis’s devastating Hurricane Ian response record, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg saying whether Biden should run for reelection was “above my pay grade."

"Buy Another Raisin Bran”

Biden’s attempt to address food inflation produced one of his most tone-deaf moments. “The food prices — the main driver of food prices is not the price of beef and eggs, et cetera. They’re up. It’s packaged goods, packaged goods,” Biden said.

“You’re going to see people not buying Kellogg’s — well, Raisin Bran — which you’re going to see them buy another raisin bran, which should be a dollar cheaper,” Biden continued. “I mean, so what’s happening is there is real movement.”

The response suggested that Americans struggling with 11.2% year-over-year food price increases should solve the problem by choosing generic cereal brands. The advice was insulting on multiple levels. First, it minimized the scale of the crisis — families were paying hundreds more per month on groceries, not just a dollar more on cereal. Second, it implied consumers were at fault for choosing brand-name products rather than acknowledging that prices had risen across all categories. Third, the specificity of the cereal example — amid a broad-based inflation crisis affecting housing, energy, healthcare, and food — trivialized suffering that affected every household expense.

The “buy cheaper raisin bran” moment became viral shorthand for the administration’s disconnect from the economic pain ordinary Americans were experiencing. It joined Biden’s “strong as hell” ice cream shop moment and his earlier suggestion that Americans could save money by buying “energy-efficient coffee machines” in the collection of presidential statements that demonstrated the gap between White House rhetoric and kitchen-table reality.

”It’s Not Record Inflation Anymore”

When confronted directly on inflation’s political impact, Biden rejected the premise. “Given record inflation, why should voters choose Democrats?” the reporter asked.

“Because it’s not record inflation anymore. I’m bringing it down. Look at what we inherited!” Biden said.

The claim was technically accurate in the narrowest sense — inflation had declined slightly from its June 2022 peak of 9.1% to 8.2% in October. But describing 8.2% inflation — the highest sustained rate in 40 years — as “not record inflation anymore” because it was down from a peak that was even worse was a remarkable exercise in selective framing.

Biden’s “look at what we inherited” was his standard deflection to the Trump administration, though inflation was 1.4% when Biden took office in January 2021. The trajectory — from 1.4% to 9.1% to 8.2% — was entirely a product of the Biden era. Celebrating a decline from 9.1% to 8.2% while inflation had increased nearly sixfold from the inherited baseline captured the administration’s approach to economic messaging: measure progress from the worst point rather than the starting point.

DeSantis: Hurricane Ian Response

The compilation included DeSantis’s debate performance highlighting his Hurricane Ian response. “I’m proud that we had 42,000 linemen staged ready to go, unprecedented array of first responders,” DeSantis said. “We were able to get in in record time, effectuate thousands of rescues, get the power back on for millions of people in record time.”

DeSantis then cited specific infrastructure achievements. “When the bridges got wiped out in Pine Island and in Sanibel, people thought those islands were going to be severed from the mainland for six months to a year. We did the Pine Island restoration in three days and we did the Sanibel Causeway restoration in two weeks,” DeSantis said. “Now those islands have the ability to recover.”

He contrasted his response with Crist’s. “And Charlie Crist is sitting there — you know what he was doing during this? He was hiding out in Puerto Rico. He wasn’t helping his community here. And then when he got back, what did he do? His campaign was soliciting campaign contributions from storm victims,” DeSantis said. “That is unacceptable and that’s not what a leader would do in a time of despair.”

The Hurricane Ian contrast was devastating because it compared specific accomplishments — thousands of rescues, bridge restorations in days, millions with restored power — against an opponent who was reportedly vacationing during the disaster and fundraising from victims afterward.

”The Only Worn-Out Old Donkey”

The compilation reprised DeSantis’s signature debate zinger. “I know that Charlie’s interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden, but I just want to make things very, very clear. The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist,” DeSantis said.

The line drew its power from the triple meaning — dismissing Crist as irrelevant, mocking Biden’s age through the “worn-out” metaphor, and using the Democratic Party’s donkey symbol as the vehicle for the insult. DeSantis would go on to win by 19.4 points.

Buttigieg: “Above My Pay Grade”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was asked about Biden running for reelection. “There are figures, some substantial figures in the Democratic Party who say quite bluntly that Joe Biden should not run again for president in 2024,” the interviewer said.

“The decision is very much above my pay grade,” Buttigieg replied. “There’s one person who gets to make that decision.”

The “above my pay grade” response was politic but notable for what it lacked: an enthusiastic endorsement. A cabinet secretary asked whether the president should run again had a choice between “absolutely yes, he should run” and some form of dodge. Buttigieg chose the dodge — avoiding a definitive endorsement while maintaining deniability. The non-endorsement was consistent with the broader Democratic anxiety about Biden’s 2024 prospects that permeated the party in late 2022.

Buttigieg did add policy praise: “This administration has been repeatedly underestimated and has repeatedly delivered. It’s hard to think of any period since FDR when there has been this much legislative success.” The FDR comparison — for a president with 38% approval and 8.2% inflation — was the kind of hyperbole that reinforced rather than dispelled concerns about the administration’s disconnect from voter sentiment.

Key Takeaways

• Biden told Americans dealing with 11.2% food inflation to buy cheaper raisin bran instead of Kellogg’s — trivializing a crisis affecting every household expense.
• When asked about “record inflation,” Biden said “it’s not record inflation anymore” — at 8.2%, the highest sustained rate in 40 years, up from 1.4% when he took office.
• DeSantis cited restoring Pine Island’s bridge in 3 days and Sanibel Causeway in 2 weeks after Hurricane Ian, while Crist was “hiding out in Puerto Rico.”
• Buttigieg called Biden’s reelection decision “above my pay grade” — a dodge that avoided giving the enthusiastic endorsement a cabinet secretary would normally provide.
• Biden’s “look at what we inherited” deflection ignored that inflation was 1.4% when he took office.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

• The main driver of food prices is packaged goods. You’re going to see them buy another raisin bran, which should be a dollar cheaper.
• Given record inflation, why should voters choose Democrats? Because it’s not record inflation anymore. I’m bringing it down. Look at what we inherited!
• The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.
• We did the Pine Island restoration in three days and the Sanibel Causeway in two weeks. Charlie Crist was hiding out in Puerto Rico.
• The decision is very much above my pay grade. There’s one person who gets to make that decision.
• This administration has been repeatedly underestimated and has repeatedly delivered. It’s hard to think of any period since FDR with this much legislative success.

Full transcript: 509 words transcribed via Whisper AI.