On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) argued that the affordability issues now have nothing to do with inflation caused by COVID spending and placed the blame on “private insurance ripping people off on their healthcare prices, childcare is skyrocketing, the cost of rent skyrocketing, the cost of groceries skyrocketing.”
Host Maria Bartiromo asked, “[I]n terms of this affordability, do you find it interesting that we’re not talking about seven trillion dollars in spending under the Biden administration and 40-year highs in inflation, isn’t that the affordability crisis that really started all of this, and it was at the Democrats’ hands?”
Khanna answered, “Well, the affordability crisis is the higher healthcare cost, the higher childcare cost, the higher food prices — partly because of tariffs — and then Trump’s China policy isn’t working. Look, China has the biggest trade surplus in recent years, and our trade deficit, Maria, despite all the tariffs, is projected to be higher than in 2024, at some point, people have to look at the numbers.”
Bartiromo followed up, “Okay, so, you’re saying that the affordability crisis had nothing to do with 40-year high inflation under Joe Biden and seven trillion dollars in new spending, is that what you’re saying?”
Khanna responded, “No. Look, there was post-COVID spending, that was both Donald Trump — including the CARES Act that he signed — and there was spending by President Biden to deal with COVID, it led to lower unemployment insurance, but, yes, it increased inflation, but that is not the current [cause] of the affordability crisis, which is private insurance ripping people off on their healthcare prices, childcare is skyrocketing, the cost of rent skyrocketing, the cost of groceries skyrocketing. The President said he would lower those prices day one.”
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