MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan Confronts Biden Adviser on ‘Disastrous’ Polls on Economy: Is It Your ‘Failure to Control Inflation?’

Zachary LeemanMar 30th, 2022, 5:50 pm
 

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan confronted White House economic advisor Jared Bernstein about the “disastrous” poll numbers the Biden administration has faced over the economy.

On Tuesday’s edition of The Mehdi Hasan Show on Peacock, the host argued the economy has been “recovering phenomenally” under President Joe Biden, though he acknowledged Americans are feeling a squeeze thanks to rising costs due to inflation hitting at a 40-year high:

Americans are feeling pain. That’s obvious. That’s true. And you add that to the obviously partisan political and media climate we currently live in and that may be why, despite all the evidence showing our economy overall is recovering phenomenally, an overwhelming number of Americans are unhappy still with President Biden’s handling of it.

Hasan referenced an NBC News poll conducted between March 18 and March 22 that shows 63% of respondents overall disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy. As is the case with many polls, those numbers drastically change once split along party lines, with 92% of Republicans and only 31% of Democrats disapproving. A majority of Independents also disapproved.

Inflation aside, Hasan argued that news on the economy has not been all bad, with the economy growing at the fastest rate since 1984 following the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as wages and benefits increasing as businesses reopened following Covid-19 shutdowns.

Hasan invited on Bernstein and confronted him on whether “disastrous” and “abysmal” polling on the economy is the result of the administration’s “failure to control inflation,” especially gas prices.

“I think when you get into those confidence measures and poll ratings, you have to get under the hood. Absolutely, inflation is in the mix. So is a pandemic that’s still with us after all these months,” Bernstein said.

He pointed to a rise this year in consumer confidence. Bernstein claimed, however, that the administration acknowledges “price challenges” and is working to combat them with future budgets and increased taxes on top earners.

“Yes, price challenges are a huge deal to this president and it’s one of the reasons he’s articulated both in this budget and, probably more importantly, in more immediate terms, a very aggressive agenda to try to ease the pressure that households are facing,” he continued.

A report this week from Bloomberg Economics suggests those rising costs will equate to approximately $5,200 more for the average U.S. household this year. That’s an extra $433 a month Americans would be spending this year for the same things they consumed previously.

According to the report, the top 20-40% of earners are facing an increase of more than $6000, but even those in the “bottom quintile” of earners (which would equate to a top income of about $27,000 in 2020, according to Tax Policy Center) are still seeing an increase of more than $2000.

Whether one argues the economy is doing poorly or well, Hasan said there is “potential trouble” ahead for Biden if perception remains the same. On Tuesday, he tweeted out another negative poll about the administration, showing former President Donald Trump leading Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in head-to-head matchups.

Watch the clip above courtesy of MSNBC.

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Zachary Leeman

Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.