CNBC Host Snipes at Biden Economic Adviser for Repeatedly Referencing ‘Putin Price Hike’: ‘You’re at 33 Percent Approval’

CNBC host Joe Kernen grilled Biden economic adviser Jared Bernstein on Monday over the state of the economy and President Joe Biden’s approval rating being at 33 percent.

During Squawk Box, Kernen told Jared Bernstein, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers that “the market has had a tough stretch, and I know, you know, we did come out of a pandemic, and we lost a lot of workers and a lot of comeback.”

Kernen went on to ask, “Maybe we’re up a little bit from where we were pre-pandemic at this point, but what do you think of the stock market having a worst first half of the year since 1970? it’s a forward-looking indicator theoretically whereas employment is kind of backwards. Isn’t that saying something about inflation or did the fed overstimulate?”

Kernen also asked if the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan enacted last year has contributed to the economy as it currently is.

Kernen remarked “there’s some troubling things that are on the horizon you know, otherwise those polls wouldn’t be like that. I’m surprised he’s still got 70 percent of Democrats because it looks like New York Times writes a piece like that it’s like they’re ready to throw in the towel.”

Bernstein refuted Kernen’s premises by trying “to tie a lot of those themes together.”

When I look at the economy, I see a pretty nuanced story. I mean, no one here is hiding from the fact that the prices are at a 40-year high. Every time the president talks about the economy, he talks about these affordability stressors on working families, and that’s where many of those poll results have their origins.

But you can’t ignore the fact we have the strongest market in generations with 11 million openings with 375,000 jobs per month over the past three months created. And so it’s an extremely welcoming job market with rising nominal wages that provides an essential backdrop to the price pressures. Family balance sheets are in good shape getting.

And getting back to the president’s role in this, well, the American Rescue Plan has its fingerprints on these benefits. Now you asked did it contribute to overheating. Look, I think that the inflation story can be broken down into strong demand, it’s constrained supply, and now [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion [of Ukraine]. The most recent analysis says that the demand part is actually trailing off and that makes sense if you look at some of the cooling sectors of the economy, housing is a great example. And that’s much the result of the Federal Reserve.

But the supply chains constraints are still in place. They’re easing significantly, which also has to do with some of our work, say, at the ports, but the Putin price hike is very much in the mix and that remains a strong constraint weighing on both the real economy and the markets.

Kernen appeared to sarcastically say that the Biden administration should “trademark” the phrase “Putin price hike.”

“You guys use it again and again,” he said.

“It’s real,” said Bernstein.

Kernen again referenced the 33 percent job approval figure.

“You’re at 33 percent approval at this point, Jared, so I don’t know,” he said.

Watch above, via CNBC.