On Wednesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that because Americans “have gone through a lot in these four years. And so, we understand that it’s going to take a little bit of time…for folks to see the impact that this administration has had.” And “it’s going to take some time for Americans to see the full breadth of what this President has been able to do.”
Co-host Geoff Bennett asked, “How does he reconcile this gap between what he views as achievements, infrastructure investments, job growth, climate initiatives and the perception that he’s failed to deliver?”
Jean-Pierre answered, “The American people have gone through a lot in these four years. And so, we understand that it’s going to take a little bit of time for them — for folks to see the impact that this administration has had.”
She continued, “But there are facts, there’s data out there to show that the work that this President has done, building the economy from the bottom up, middle out has mattered, making sure no communities are left behind has mattered, more than 16 million jobs created. Let’s not forget, when he stepped in, thousands of people — more than 3,000 people were dying a day from COVID. And he had to turn that around very, very quickly. And I’ll say this one last thing: The historic pieces of legislation that he was able to get through, whether it’s the CHIPS and Science Act, … the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the PACT Act, the…Inflation Reduction Act, all of those things, and you look at the provisions, for example, in the Inflation Reduction Act, they are popular. Insulin capped at $35, lowering prescription drugs, beating Big Pharma so that Medicare can really negotiate on lowering those prescription drug prices, all of those things are popular. And so, he took actions that Americans really wanted and we do believe it’s going to take some time for Americans to see the full breadth of what this President has been able to do. But, right now, our focus, with five days left, is to try and continue to run through the tape, what else can we do to make Americans’ lives better?”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
