Energy Up 24%, Food Up 18%, and Why Not 'Pass the Torch'? Jean-Pierre on Biden's Launch Day (April 25, 2023)

On the day President Joe Biden launched his reelection campaign, a reporter read the White House the numbers. “Americans are seeing energy prices up 24 percent, including electricity, since President Biden took office. Food prices are up 18 percent in the last two years. Manufacturing lost jobs for the last two months in a row. And inflation is outpacing wages for 26 months in a row,” the reporter said [1].

“How does the President then sell to the American people to keep going with these economic policies?” [1]

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre started with a disclaimer. “So, look, again, I’m going to be careful about 2024, anything that’s related,” she said. Then she offered her own numbers: “Annual inflation has fallen over the last nine months. It is moderating” [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the April 25, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Outpacing Wages”

Jean-Pierre conceded the pain. “But he understands that American people are still feeling, you know, some — some of what of the — of this inflation — right? — still feeling some of the higher cost,” she said [1].

The government’s own data backed the reporter. “Real average hourly earnings decreased 0.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2022 to March 2023,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that month [2].

Jean-Pierre pointed to jobs instead. “You’ve seen 12.6 million jobs have been created since the President took office,” she said, adding that “800,000 manufacturing jobs have been brought ba- — brought back under this administration” [1].

Asked what “more” Biden could do, she said: “I don’t have any — I don’t have anything to announce at this time of any actions that’s being taken” [1].

”Pass the Torch”

Another reporter raised Biden’s age. “The issue of the President is 80 years old — oldest man ever elected, would be 86 at the end of his second term. Our CBS News poll this morning shows that only 22 percent of Democratic-leaning voters are excited about the prospect of President Biden running for reelection,” the reporter said [1].

“Why has President Biden not decided to pass the torch at this point? Why does he still want to hold it?” [1]

Jean-Pierre waved it off. “When it comes to age, it’s the same thing that we heard in 2020. Right? We heard that over and over in 2020,” she said [1].

”In 2022”

Then she got the year wrong. “In 2022, let’s not forget, more Americans voted for this President than any other President in history,” Jean-Pierre said [1]. Biden’s record total came in the 2020 presidential election. There was no presidential race in 2022.

She also bragged about the midterms. “This President had one of the most successful midterm elections for a Democratic President in 60 years. And we were able to stop that red wave; that did not happen,” she said [1]. Republicans won the House in that election, Fox News reported [3].

Asked how she learned Biden was running, Jean-Pierre said: “Just like all of you.” She added, “I’m not involved in the reelect. And I learned just like all of you this morning, at 6:00 a.m.” [1]

“Lesbian Visibility Week”

The briefing had opened with a celebrity guest list. “So, this week is Lesbian Visibility Week,” Jean-Pierre said. “Today I’m honored to welcome the cast of ‘The L Word’ and ‘Generation Q,’ two Showtime series” [1].

After the actresses spoke, she turned back to the press. “This is like the quietest I’ve heard you guys,” she said, then launched into an attack on “the MAGA proposal,” saying “Speaker McCarthy’s bill would cut the American economy off at the knees” [1].

”Not Going to Negotiate”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., had said Biden should negotiate on the budget, a reporter noted. Jean-Pierre held the line: “We’re not going to negotiate on — on something that they should be doing, which is avoiding default. And we’ve been very clear we’re just not going to negotiate on that” [1].

By the Numbers

24 percent: the rise in energy prices since Biden took office, as the reporter put it [1].
26 months: inflation outpacing wages, per the reporter [1].
0.7 percent: the drop in real average hourly earnings over the year to March 2023, per BLS [2].
22 percent: Democratic-leaning voters excited about a Biden run, per the CBS poll the reporter cited [1].
86: Biden’s age at the end of a second term, the reporter noted [1].

What Happened Next

Then he negotiated. “The two sides went into a standoff that lasted for weeks as Biden refused to negotiate, demanding a clean debt limit increase before any discussion on spending,” Fox News reported. As the deadline neared, “both sides entered into tense negotiations to work out a compromise” [4].

The result was the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, “An Act To provide for a responsible increase to the debt ceiling.” Its first division is titled “LIMIT FEDERAL SPENDING.” It was approved June 3, 2023 [5].

The age question got worse. In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur wrote that Biden would likely present himself to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” [6]. For more, see HYGO News’ page on the special counsel interview.

The torch passed. On July 21, 2024, Biden wrote: “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down” [7].

For the vote on McCarthy’s bill that week, see HYGO News’ page on “Congresswoman Majority” Taylor Greene, and for more of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record, the Karine Jean-Pierre record page.