Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Thursday that President Joe Biden is touting the newly released gross domestic product (GDP) numbers as a positive development while Americans are struggling and "can't afford anything."
In a new report out Thursday from the Commerce Department, the GDP — the economy's total output of goods and services — slowed sharply from its 3.4% growth rate in the final three months of 2023 to a 1.6% annual pace in the first quarter.
"[H]e's going to say that the economy is great," Perry said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "You should disregard the fact that you can't afford your credit card bills, that you're paying for your groceries on your credit card, and you can't afford the groceries or the credit card bill. You can't afford gasoline — approaching $4 a gallon where I live. You can't afford day care. You can't afford anything. You should disregard that.
"Of course, the price, the numbers of GDP are up because the cost of everything is up 20%. But the only thing that's not up is people's wages commensurate with the cost. They can't afford these things."
Perry said the Biden administration is "going to disregard that and tell you to disbelieve your lying eyes and believe them instead, as they always do." He said a "certain amount of Americans ... will believe them just because they're leftists."
"The price of everything is up, so to get the same things that you got before, you've got to spend more," he said. "And, of course, they see that as something laudable worth reporting on — any sign of good things. But people out here in the real world ... are counting their paycheck and their dollars in and out and they're saying, 'Wait a minute. I have less now than I had three years ago. How is this working for me?'
"It might work great for people in Washington, D.C., but it doesn't work for people out here in the real world that are struggling to pay their taxes and pay their bills."
In a statement on Thursday, Biden celebrated the first quarter GDP numbers and said he is working to ensure "no one is left behind."
"Today's report shows the American economy remains strong, with continued steady and stable growth," Biden said, in part. "The economy has grown more since I took office than at this point in any presidential term in the last 25 years — including 3% growth over the last year — while unemployment has stayed below 4% for more than two years. But we have more work to do. Costs are too high for working families, and I am fighting to lower them."
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