Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Budget and Armed Services Committees, joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business to discuss the higher-than-expected August inflation report and war in Ukraine. Hours after the release of a hot inflation report, President Biden and Democrats gathered on the White House lawn to celebrate the passage of their $700 billion tax and spend “Inflation Enhancement Act.” Excerpts and full video are below.
On Bidenflation:
“With regard to the party over at the White House, the only thing I can say is the one thing that’s more incompetent than their policy is their politics. How you can be so tone deaf as to celebrate on this day a bill that they dubbed the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ is beyond tone deafness. With regard to [today’s inflation numbers], I wasn’t at all surprised [by] the fact it came in worse than what was expected. It didn’t surprise me at all for all the reasons you’ve been talking about. We should be crystal clear, Larry, this is the Biden Administration’s fault. It’s not anybody else’s [fault]. No one else shares this with him except the Administration and the Democrats in Congress.”
“When you look at the numbers year over year, they’re obviously bad. Food inflation is the highest it’s been since Jimmy Carter was president. Shelter inflation (housing) is the highest it’s been since 1982. This is all because of that American Rescue Plan—$2 trillion poured onto the economy. Now recently, the three-quarters of a trillion dollars they poured on [the economy] that came in the form of this ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’ which is really the Green New Deal. And then you throw on this crazy student loan forgiveness thing. It’s no wonder that inflation is rampant and it’s going to go on for a long time. I agree with you. I do not see an end in sight, certainly for the next several quarters.”
On the 2022 Election:
“I don’t see how we can undo something while Joe Biden is still in the White House unless that long lost Joe Biden that was once a dealmaker [and] that was transactional, unless we could find that Joe Biden again. Maybe in a divided government, we could at least undo some of the damage. Even with a divided House [of Representatives] and Senate at least we can stop some of the bleeding. But it’s important we take Senate. Larry, let me just tell you, we’re going to. I know some people are wringing their hands looking at recent trends. I’m telling you Republicans are going to take the House [of Representatives] and we’re going to take the Senate. When we do, the one piece of leverage we have that is significant is the confirmation of nominees and the promotion of people in the Pentagon and the State Department. The Senate has that unique power and we have to wield it and use it with every possible measure that we can to stop some of this stuff and try to change the trajectory. We need a supply-side solution really, really quickly and we need to get about it right away.”
On Ukraine and Vladimir Putin:
“First of all, we ought to enjoy the victories when we can get them, and certainly the momentum in Ukraine provides some opportunity. We also have to be careful not to spike the football before we cross the goal line. That said, [before] coming down here to talk to you, I was with some former Members of Parliament from Ukraine who are here advocating for their country and giving us the lowdown. They’re feeling pretty good and quite optimistic. I hate to keep using sports illustrations, but war is a lot like sports, in that, momentum means as much as anything. Momentum generates success and success attracts more success. One of the challenges I think that is going to be interesting to watch from a distance is how this affect[s] Vladimir Putin at home [and] the resolve of the Russian people—many of whom didn’t have their hearts in this in the first place. So I think as life gets more challenging for Vladimir Putin, the momentum continues with the people of Ukraine and those very brave warriors that are fighting with not nearly as good weapon systems, but a lot more heart and quite frankly, a lot fewer of them. But remember what they’re fighting for—they’re fighting for their freedom and their country. That’s a great motivator.”
“You don’t go into that lightly when you’re dealing with a thug like [Putin]. He’s always got his hand on the red button, and that scares a lot of people, rightfully so. It’s to be taken seriously. Even a dictatorial thug like Vladimir Putin can’t control millions of people when they turn on him. So we need to continue to support Ukraine, and we need Ukraine [to] keep this momentum. I’d like to see even more support from other European allies. The United States is carrying a pretty big part of this burden. But at the same time, Larry, we need to come to the rescue of Europe with clean, American-produced oil and natural gas to fill that void as well. That will help our economy, that helps their security, it is good for the world.”