While Biden Blames Trump for Everything Under the Sun, Inflation Is Now Higher and Growth Lags
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Did you know that more Americans have died of Covid in 2021 than in all of 2020? Tragic. But it’s a fact. Did you know that Joe Biden called Donald Trump every name in the book when the former president put in a travel ban for China and Europe? Every name in the book.
Now, however, Mr. Biden himself is utilizing a travel ban on southern Africa. So I guess the lesson here is that what goes around, comes around.
Did you also know that the inflation rate under Joe Biden started to rise last March and is presently 7.6% at an annual rate through October? During that period, real GDP increased 4.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate. In President Trump’s last year, or his last three quarters of the V-shaped recovery, GDP growth was 14.9% SAAR. And the CPI inflation was 2.8%.
So, at this point, even while Mr. Biden blames Mr. Trump for everything under the sun, Mr. Trump had higher growth and lower inflation. Uncle Joe has lower growth and much higher inflation.
And the real inflation began in March and April, just about the same time the Bidens pushed a $2 trillion relief package into public hands — which, by the way, was a deterrent to work.
That deterrent itself was a big reason for the pandemic supply chain bottlenecks. Also to blame were rigid union rules, as well as bad regulations in the West Coast ports and equally bad regulations on the trucking industry.
I’m arguing that President Trump’s economic performance during the pandemic, his V-shaped recovery, was a better one than Mr. Biden’s, with his $2 trillion spending spree and more such reckless moves to come if he has his way.
Also, Mr. Trump had much lower inflation, proving that you can have strong growth with lower inflation, provided that fiscal and monetary policies are restrained and balanced.
And by the way, this was Donald Trump’s second recovery, because his first boom occurred after the historic tax cuts of 2017.
Here is one more fact, stay with me folks.
Under President Trump’s energy independence policies of total deregulation of the fossil fuel industries, America was producing a record 13 million-plus barrels a day just on the cusp of the pandemic. During the pandemic storm, the number dropped to 11 million barrels per day, where, unfortunately, it sits today.
Why aren’t the producers producing and the drillers drilling? Because of Mr. Biden’s war on fossil fuels, and his obsessive, unproven, and ideologically driven climate change policies. Not good. Don’t play the blame game, Mr. Biden. Look at your own policies.
So, wrapping it up: Problem no. 1 today is inflation. Problem no. 2is a lack of affordable and plentiful energy. Problem no. 3 is Uncle Sam needs to stop paying people to stay home and not work.
What’s my solution? Senators Manchin and Sinema should pause Mr. Biden’s reckless spending and taxing bill until inflation comes down, if it ever does. A pause into next year is consistent with Mr. Manchin’s recent statements. I sincerely hope he sticks to his guns. Because we need to save America and kill the bill.
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From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business News.