Biden the blamer: White House pins inflation, high gas prices on Putin, corporate greed, COVID-19 and more

President Biden has assigned blame for inflation gripping the country on everything from greedy meat corporations to the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the coronavirus pandemic.President Biden and his administration have assigned blame for record inflation and gas prices in the country on everything from Vladimir Putin to greedy "meat conglomerates" to the two-year-old coronavirus pandemic.Reacting Wednesday to April’s consumer price index, Biden said inflation is "unacceptably high," and maintained that lowering prices for American families is his "top economic priority," while again blaming the surging numbers on COVID-19 and Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 8.3% in April from a year ago, a sharp hike although slightly below the 8.5% year-over-year surge recorded in March. (Reuters/Tom Brenner)He added Republicans didn't want to solve inflation by lowering costs.During remarks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last month, Biden nodded to families "struggling with higher prices" amid record-high inflation, but again said the reason for the surge was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine."The second big reason for inflation is Vladimir Putin. "Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world."Biden made similar comments in March in multiple speeches, also pointing at used car price hikes.INFLATION SOARS 8.3% IN APRIL, HOVERING NEAR 40-YEAR HIGHBiden's repeatedly referred to inflation and gas prices as due to "Putin's price hike," although the spike was occurring before the Russian invasion in February.At one point in December, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, noting rising meat prices, pointed to what Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called "greedy meat conglomerates."