President Biden blasted over Inflation Reduction Act celebration

President Joe Biden’s foes are lambasting him online for celebrating legislation geared toward the fight against rising consumer costs the same day new figures show inflation remains stubbornly high.

Appearing with congressional allies and iconic singer-songwriter James Taylor, Biden held a White House event Tuesday to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill is the most ambitious attempt by Biden and congressional Democrats to tackle the runaway cost of living before the midterm elections. But critics seized on data showing another month of unusually high inflation that caused stocks to tank.

“Grocery prices increased in August by the most in 43 years,” Republican Representative Mary Miller said in a tweet. “Joe Biden celebrated by throwing a party at the White House. You paid for his groceries.”

Speaking at the event, Biden said that four weeks ago, he signed the Inflation Reduction Act, calling it “the single most important legislation passed in the Congress to combat inflation and one of the most significant laws in our nation’s history, in my view.”

The landmark legislation includes billions to combat climate change and reduce health care costs along with other consumer expenses while closing tax loopholes.

“With this law, the American people won and special interests lost,” said Biden.

But the event came the same day the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released for August, showing an 8.3 percent rise from a year ago of many cost-of-living expenses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 1,200 points Tuesday, marking its worst day since June 2020, reports CNBC.

Biden’s time in office has been marked by the biggest rise in consumer goods since 1982, sparking fears of a broader economic slowdown.

“Sure glad Biden’s passed the inflation reduction act,” Jake Shields, a former mixed- martial arts fighter, said in a tweet. “Today’s stock market crash showed how much confidence we have in it working.”

Critics of Biden also focused on the appearance of Taylor, who performed “Fire and Rain,” a song that contains lyrics about the suicide of one of the musician’s friends.

A Twitter account controlled by the Republican members on the House Select Committee on the Economy reacted with a tweet saying Biden brought Taylor to the White House because the songwriter could recall the high inflation of 1982.

Charles C.W. Cooke, senior writer at the conservative National Review, responded with mocking tweets imagining Biden’s reaction to the new inflation figures.

“Team, I just saw the CPI report,” Cooke wrote in one tweet mimicking Biden. “Let’s host a rally about inflation, and begin it with James Taylor singing a song about suicide.”

Republican Representative Roger Williams of Texas reacted with a tweet calling the Biden administration “completely out of touch.”

“While the White House celebrates their inflation ‘expansion’ act to James Taylor and on a day with another abysmal CPI report, Americans are struggling to afford groceries and pay rent,” tweeted.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.