Media, Biden admin called out for 'amazing strategy' of claiming Americans don't understand economy

Journalist, author and podcaster Matt Taibbi told "The Brian Kilmeade Show" on Thursday that the mainstream media and the Biden administration are not "in touch" with ordinary people. Taibbi said Democrats are trying to convince Americans that their views on the economy and inflation are "not rational."

LISTEN TO THE ‘BRIAN KILMEADE SHOW’

MATT TAIBBI: It's a very strange thing. It kind of reminds me, there was an old Joseph Heller play where a general said, 'Well, we're going to bomb Constantinople off the map.' And somebody suggests, 'Well, why don't we just bomb the map?' And that's what they're doing. They're just trying to bomb the map. They're trying to tell people that, look, the statistics say you have a good economy and what you feel or what you perceive when you go to the store is not rational. So when you buy a $4.50 chocolate chip cookie, and you have a reaction to that, that it seems a little high, you're being irrational, they tell you. And it's gone beyond saying people are being irrational or partisan in their political choices. They're saying that their own perceptions of the economy are incorrect, which is kind of an amazing thing for the press to do.

... One thing I know from talking to people who've worked in White Houses, or for staffs for senators, is that most politicians don't understand even basic economics very well. So it's entirely possible that Joe Biden may not realize that when the Fed adds $5.5 trillion to its balance sheet, that this will inevitably have an inflationary effect on the economy. And that when his aides tell him that by telling retailers to lower prices, he's fixed the problem, and that he doesn't understand that the public is looking at 20 years of policies that are clearly inflationary, and they're dealing with trying to pay the bills, and it's different for them. I just think that most politicians don't really — they're not really in touch with what ordinary people are going through. ... I think they may not realize that that's actually what's happening because these folks live in little archipelagos of wealth in Georgetown and the Hamptons, and they don't know what ordinary people are dealing with.

MSNBC'S RUHLE WANTS 'ECONOMIC EXPLAINER' TO TELL 'CONFUSED' AMERICANS THEY'RE 'DOING QUITE WELL'

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle called upon the president of Chicago’s Federal Reserve to tell viewers that they are economically far better off than they think.

"We need an economic explainer," the MSNBC host said last week. "People are confused, they’re exhausted, but they’re also doing quite well."

Ruhle, who hosts MSNBC’s "The Eleventh Hour," had been discussing a recent Federal Reserve report that "shows people are still struggling to cover day-to-day expenses, even as inflation has slowed." She noted how some major brands are responding by enticing consumers with slashed prices: "Target says it is cutting prices on 5,000 essential items, things like milk, butter, pet food. Wendy's is now offering a $3 breakfast deal. And rivals like McDonald's are offering new lower-priced value meals." 

Ruhle enlisted Austan Goolsbee, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, to tell her viewers about the current state of the economy, noting to Goolsbee, "Lots of things that were not considered luxuries before now are, because things have gotten expensive. However, we have more purchasing power today than we did in 2019. What’s going on with the American consumer psyche?"