MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd this week expressed shock and frustration at recent polling showing the majority of Americans are unsatisfied with the economy under President Joe Biden, calling the negative public opinion a result of “right-wing echo chamber” lies.
In a stunning dismissal of the Americans hurt by historic inflation levels and a supply chain crises under the Biden administration, the liberal media figure suggested that Americans simply “don’t feel first-world enough” and should go live in another country before they criticize the president.
What did he say?
“Fifty-one percent believe the economy is in a recession or depression. I mean, look, it’s just not true,” Todd exclaimed during a panel segment on “MTP Daily” Tuesday, posted by Real Clear Politics.
Todd was citing a USA Today and Suffolk University poll conducted in February. Displayed alongside it onscreen was another recent poll published by the Washington Post and ABC News that returned similar findings; namely, that a whopping 75% of Americans felt the economy is “not so good” or “poor.”
“This economy is frustrating,” he continued. “This economy with COVID has been — ‘I’ve got money and I can’t find something’ — but my God, there’s jobs. There’s good jobs.”
“Is this the right-wing echo chamber is better than the Democratic echo chamber problem?” he asked guest Jennifer Palmieri. “Or is there something else missing?”
Palmieri, a former Obama White House communications director, responded by agreeing with Todd’s assertion and claiming that liberals don’t just repeat what they’ve been told like conservatives do. She went on to add that Americans’ gripes about the economy are just a feeling, not reality.
“That’s the real issue. They don’t feel secure about that right now,” Todd declared.
What else?
At that point, Republican strategist Matt Gorman entered the discussion to suggest that negative responses to the economy over the last year are “broader” than economic measurements. He said people are feeling the squeeze when they go to restaurants without adequate staffing or to grocery stores that are void of product.
“We don’t feel first-world enough,” Todd jumped back in to say as if the real issue had just dawned on him.
“I want to tell people, ‘Go live in another country,’ and realize we have it pretty good here,” he added.
Todd’s complaints are unlikely to change anyone’s perception of the economy, however, as skyrocketing inflation hit a 40-year high last month and the country continues to grapple with supply chain issues and staffing shortages. That’s not to mention the pain Americans will likely feel at the gas pump over the coming days and weeks amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(H/T: Fox News)