CNN news anchor Jake Tapper took U.S. Rep John Rose (R-Tenn.) to task on claims that the dismal U.S. economy under President Donald Trump is the fault of the last administration — despite Trump’s economic policies being in place for nearly a year.
“It takes time to turn that ship around,” Rose told Tapper, “but we see great progress. … We’ve got to take the time to stay the course. It took four years to dig this hole. It’s going to take some time to dig out.”
“So, I hear you when you say it takes time to turn a ship around, et cetera. But when President Trump talked about the economy last night, he said a lot of things that were just not true,” Tapper pointed out. “He said food prices are coming down as of September. Grocery prices are up 2.7 percent year over year, up 1.4 percent since January, when Trump took office on inflation. Trump said he inherited the worst inflation in U.S. history. In reality, he inherited 3 percent inflation, which is what it is now.”
“Shouldn’t someone privately sit him down and say, ‘Please don’t tell voters that prices are down because that’s not what they’re experiencing at the grocery store?’” Tapper pressed.
Rose insisted prices for “some goods” are coming down and “it takes time to reverse” the “inflationary spiral.”
“But President Trump’s out there saying that the affordability issue is a ‘hoax.’ I don’t think it’s a hoax, do you?” Tapper pressed.
“I think the hoax is trying to frame the issue as somehow Republicans are responsible for what was clearly created by bad progressive democratic policies,” Rose said, which prompted Tapper to point out that “tariffs are part of the reason for inflation.”
“President Trump is trying to open markets and using tariffs as a tool to get that done,” Rose argued. “That does create some modest inflationary pressures. But mostly that’s being absorbed by either the exporters or by middlemen here in this country.”
Even red state business-owners say they are the ones paying the price for Trump’s tariffs, however, and they blame the administration for the cost increase. This was a fact Tapper made plain to Rose.
“I’ll just leave you with this food for thought from a Fox News poll,” said Tapper. “It’s like 2-to-1 in terms of who voters blame for the current economy. Like 62 percent say it’s Trump’s economy, maybe like 32 percent Biden’s. But Republican Congressman John Rose, we thank you for your time.”
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