Biden blames Russia for intensifying inflation

April 13, 2022 Amber Coakley US 0

President Joe Biden speaks at POET Bioprocessing in Menlo, Iowa, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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UPDATED 6:23 AM PT – Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Amid intensifying inflation, the White House has struggled to point the finger on whose to blame for the crisis. President Joe Biden has continued to blame inflation on Russia, although prices had been soaring for several months before the Ukraine crisis.

Biden gave a speech in Iowa on Tuesday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed U.S. inflation rate accelerated to 8.5 percent in March. The BLS also said inflation rose just 1.2 percent from a month prior while most of price increases took place before February. The Ukraine crisis began on February 24 when U.S. inflation already stood at 7.9 percent.

BIDEN: “We saw today’s inflation data. 70% of the increase in prices in March came from Putin’s price hike.” pic.twitter.com/b9mB6Dfmht

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 12, 2022

US gas prices surged 60 percent in January from a year prior after Biden restricted drilling and shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline last year. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said the Biden administration may be under-counting inflation that plagues America.

DeSantis said on Tuesday that prices are rising significantly above the Labor Department’s latest reading of 8.5 percent. The governor said households are suffering from the worst inflation in 40 years and it keeps going up every month. He added, the costs of energy and food are soaring through the roof due to economic policies by the Biden administration.

Inflation is at a 40-year high of 8.5% due to federal policies of borrowing & printing money at unfathomable levels & bad energy policy, which is hurting Floridians.

Biden could unleash domestic energy production to provide relief. Instead, he is content watching people suffer.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 12, 2022

DeSantis stressed the value of the US dollar has decreased due to multi-trillion spending packages. Looking ahead, the Florida governor said he’s using all available state resources to offset the effects of Biden’s policies, but state level efforts are not enough to contain inflation.