Joe Biden’s supply chain crisis is not over, not by a long shot.
But if you listened to him and other officials in his administration this week, you’d think everything was hunky-dory here at Christmas time, with the only supply issues being a demand for a popular toy or whatnot that you would typically see sell out this time of year anyway.
During a Wednesday meeting with his supply chain disruptions task force, which includes business leaders from major retail outlets and shipping companies like Fed Ex, Biden looked straight at the camera and proclaimed that “the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur”:
First, supply chains. And I owe a lot to the people — the business people on this call — on this Zoom. Earlier this fall, we heard a lot of dire warnings about supply chain problems leading to a crisis around the holidays, so we acted. A lot of recommendations of the people that you see on the screen here. I wish we were all able to do this in person.We brought together business and labor leaders to solve problems.And much — you know, the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. Packages are moving. Gifts are being delivered. Shelves are not empty.
Watch:
Perhaps even more insultingly, that same day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki literally declared that “we’ve saved Christmas,” pointing to a New York Times article which she suggested validated the administration’s claims:
There are, of course, big problems with both Biden’s and Psaki’s claims.
For starters, the Times story Psaki deceptively referenced noted that the main reason some Americans are seeing less of a supply chain issue here at Christmas time than anticipated is not because of Joe Biden, but because many people shopped way earlier than normal and retailers got smart and ordered things way in advance so they’d have plenty of time to get the gifts/merch in before Christmas.
But that doesn’t mean everyone who shopped months ago is getting what they ordered.
CBS News reported this week on how “many last-minute shoppers are hearing the words ‘out of stock’” as a “nationwide supply chain shortage has left orders that were supposed to be delivered to stores on cargo ships.”
They talked to one Houston toy store owner who says he has been waiting on “items [that] never arrived even though it’s been months since they were expected—leaving many of his holiday shoppers empty-handed.”
Reuters also filed a report on how candy manufacturers are unable to keep up with heavy demand in the midst of a sugar shortage. Hammond’s Candies, the largest wholesale supplier of candy canes in the country, told the news outlet that they aren’t taking any new orders from customers at this time not just because of the sugar shortage but also because they’re short-staffed, plus everything is more expensive now.
On the same day the Times published their piece Psaki cited during the press briefing, they published another one (not cited by Psaki, of course) on how “Supply Chain Shortages Are Dimming Christmas Displays”:
This month, retail experts said, evidence of the supply chain upheaval could be seen in the picked-over decoration aisles in stores, and on websites warning customers of the limited inventory for certain holiday staples.
There are many more examples along those lines but I think the point has been made.
It’s safe to say that “the much-predicted crisis didn’t occur” is a strong contender for entry into the Gaslighting Hall of Fame, right along with “we’ve saved Christmas,” which ranks right up there as one of the dumbest things ever uttered from a White House podium. One only needs to look at the ongoing congestion at our nation’s ports to understand why.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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