Yellen Says She Was “Wrong” on Inflation — But White House Refuses to Admit Error; KJP Has No Timeline on Who Told Biden About Formula Crisis

On 6/2/2022, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen publicly admitted “I was wrong about the path that inflation would take” — but new Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to make the same concession for the White House, saying “we have achieved a historic recovery.” Reporters pressed KJP relentlessly on who told Biden about the baby formula shortage and when, given that Biden himself said he didn’t know until April despite the recall happening in February. KJP had no timeline, no names, and could not explain the two-month gap.

Yellen: “I Was Wrong”

Yellen’s admission was direct. “I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take,” Yellen told CNN. “There have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that I at the time didn’t fully understand.”

A reporter immediately asked KJP: “The Treasury Secretary says she was wrong. Why doesn’t anybody here at the White House?”

“What the Secretary was pointing out is that there have been shocks to the economy that have exacerbated inflationary pressures which couldn’t have been foreseen 18 months ago,” KJP said.

“Just so I understand — the Treasury Secretary says she was wrong, but the White House was not wrong about inflation?” the reporter pressed.

“Here’s the thing — we have achieved a historic recovery through an extraordinary—” KJP began.

Multiple reporters pressed on the same point. “Does anyone in the White House have regrets about how they talked about inflation, given that it turned out to do exactly what they said it would not do?” a reporter asked.

“There were certain shocks to the economy that exacerbated the inflation,” KJP repeated. She never conceded error.

Formula: “I Don’t Have That Timeline”

The briefing’s most damaging exchanges centered on the baby formula crisis. Biden himself had said he became aware of the severity “sometime in early April” — two months after the February 17 recall.

“Who is the person in the West Wing who decided after six or eight weeks that this baby formula shortage was finally something somebody should tell the President about?” Doocy asked.

“I have to go back and talk to the President,” KJP said. “I want to do my due diligence.”

“How serious does an issue have to be before it’s brought to the President’s attention?” Doocy pressed.

KJP fell back on a repeated refrain: “We have been working on this issue since day one of the recall.”

A reporter caught the contradiction. “You’ve said the administration has been working 24/7 around the clock since February. The President says he didn’t understand how bad the issue was until April. So is it that you were working around the clock since February, but the President didn’t know?”

“The actions across the government began day one,” KJP said.

“So what you’re saying is that even if the President had known sooner before April, your response would have been exactly the same?” the reporter asked.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” KJP replied — without explaining what she was saying.

Another reporter pressed: “The President said the baby formula manufacturers knew things would be really bad as soon as the recall happened. But he did not. Who failed to inform him?”

“We have been working on this issue from day one since the recall,” KJP repeated.

“Could you commit to providing a timeline of who knew what when?” a reporter asked.

KJP would not commit.

No New Ideas on Inflation

A reporter noted Biden’s Wall Street Journal essay contained proposals that “aren’t exactly new” — tax credits, tax code changes, deficit reduction. “We’re coming up on a 40-year high of inflation. Does he have anything else?”

KJP listed the SPR release and other prior actions. “We understand that there’s more work to be done,” she said.

Key Takeaways

Yellen admitted “I was wrong” about inflation; the White House refused to make the same concession, saying “we achieved a historic recovery.”
KJP could not provide a timeline of when Biden was informed about the formula crisis — he said April, the recall was in February, and she had “no information” to bridge the gap.
Multiple reporters asked variations of the same question: who failed to inform the President? KJP answered none of them.
Biden’s Wall Street Journal essay on inflation contained no new proposals; a reporter noted “these aren’t exactly new.”
The Defense Production Act wasn’t invoked until a full month after Biden said he learned of the formula crisis.

Transcript Highlights

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

I was wrong then about the path inflation would take. I didn’t fully understand the supply bottlenecks.
The Treasury Secretary says she was wrong. Why doesn’t anybody here at the White House? We have achieved a historic recovery.
Who decided after six or eight weeks that the formula shortage was something to tell the President about? I have to go back and talk to the President.
You were working around the clock since February but the President didn’t know until April?
Could you commit to providing a timeline of who knew what when? I have laid down what happened since the recall.
Does anyone have regrets about how they talked about inflation? There were certain shocks to the economy.

Full transcript: 2306 words transcribed via Whisper AI.