Senator Elizabeth Warren and Joe Kernen had a heated spat on "Squawk Box" Friday morning, as the CNBC anchor took her to school over the Democrats' plan to impose a federal ban on so-called "price gouging."
"If you lose The Washington Post as a Democrat, you got some serious problems. This is what they said about the price gouging, or the price control legislation," said Kernen - adding "It was really pilloried from both sides of the aisle … I can paint you a picture how that would work and how it’s worked in the past, where we’ve tried to artificially hold prices down. Competition doesn’t come in. Like if beef is too high, people don’t move the chicken. Competitors don’t come in to undercut where the beef prices are. Nothing works when you try to artificially control prices. It’s just the supply and demand issue. It’s a flawed idea."
CNBC Host torches Elizabeth Warren on price control policies.
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) August 23, 2024
CNBC Host: "Nothing works when you try to artificially control prices... It's a flawed idea"
Sen. Warren: "Is there a question?"
CNBC Host: "Yes. Why would you propose a flawed idea?"pic.twitter.com/YXhzIo6EtQ
Warren jumped in, asking Kernen if he was just there to lecture her, noting that states like Texas and Florida already have price gouging laws - adding "Price gouging laws are not price control."
Kernen then called Warren out for a misleading claim that Kraft-Heinz "increased profits by 448% in 2022," when in fact it was an accounting charge from the previous year.
Elizabeth Warren tries to defend Kamala's Soviet-style price control scheme — but can't handle any criticism.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 23, 2024
"This is the way you never lose an argument because nobody can ever say anything back to you, Senator." @JoeSquawk pic.twitter.com/imOVzIxZo4
He also pointed out the absurdity of suggesting that companies didn't know how to price gouge until Biden was elected.
CNBC: For 40 years, companies didn't know how to price gouge until 3.5 years ago when Kamala was elected? They just learned how to do this?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 23, 2024
POCAHONTAS: "Prices went up because of the war in Ukraine." pic.twitter.com/mw8DIc5MHR
Watch the entire interview (did we sense tears from Warren near the end?):
CNBC Host Becomes Distraught After Elizabeth Warren Talks Past His Argument Against Her Price Gouging Position pic.twitter.com/Z8IHsLtVlD
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 23, 2024