WH Press Secretary Squirms From Anxiety After This Question

ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl has accused White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of promoting an “Orwellian” narrative about the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

When asked about the contradiction between the analyses and the White House’s messaging on ABC News “This Week,” Jean-Pierre was compelled to explain it.

“Let me ask you: Isn’t it almost Orwellian to call it the Inflation Reduction Act when the Congressional Budget Office, which is non-partisan, claims there will be a tiny impact on inflation this year and barely any next year? Isn’t it?” Karl asked.

“How can you claim it’s an Inflation Reduction Act when the nonpartisan experts say it won’t reduce inflation?” he inquires.

The question caught Jean-Pierre off guard, and she didn’t mention the CBO’s report in her response.

“The CBO addressed it specifically. It was the headline number that we needed to address. There’s more in there that proves that it will have the money from — ” Jean-Pierre cut off, shifting the topic to a different aspect of the legislation.

“We’re also doing this,” she continued. “It’s to ensure that billionaires in corporate America pay their fair share and the tax code is fairer. When you do all of that together, it will lower the deficit and help fight inflation.”

Without acknowledging the CBO’s findings, Jean-Pierre argued that the bill would “fight inflation” because some politicians said it would.

“So you disagree with the CBO’s conclusion?” Karl pressed.

Ultimately, Jean-Pierre blamed Republicans for promoting an “untrue” idea, and she once more asserted—without any supporting data—that it has been “demonstrated” that the bill will “counter inflation.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” she continued. “It was simply — the manner in which Republicans did it was intended to make a false argument. It will combat inflation. It has been demonstrated and stated by economists on both the Republican and Democratic sides,” she added.