By Naomi Lim. Media: Washingtonexaminer
President Joe Biden is name-checking the Cookie Monster as part of his latest attempt to convince the public his administration is doing all it can to counter rising consumer prices before November’s general election, more broadly blaming companies and not his economic policies.
“Some of the small snack companies think you won’t even notice what they are doing when they charge you just as much for the same size bag of potato chips, only there’s a hell of a lot fewer chips in it,” Biden told his White House Competition Council on Tuesday.
“I’ll tell you who did notice: the Cookie Monster,” the president said. “He pointed out his cookies are getting smaller, but he’s paying the same price. I was stunned when I found out that’s what actually happened.”
During his Competition Council’s sixth meeting, Biden announced the creation of a strike force, co-chaired by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, which will be responsible for addressing unfair and illegal pricing.
“We’re putting companies on notice. If you keep prices high while engaging in illegal practices that are fraudulent, unfair, deceptive, or anti-competitive, we will enforce the law, and you will be held accountable,” Biden said.
“DOJ and FTC, along with other agencies on the strike force, will focus their collaborative efforts on key sectors where corporations may be violating the law and keeping prices high, including prescription drugs and healthcare, food and grocery, housing, financial services, and more,” the White House said earlier Tuesday.
Moments before Biden spoke, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the White House’s response to the Cookie Monster’s complaint regarding the price of his fictional cookies, specifically why it took the Cookie Monster and a general election for the president’s administration to create the strike force.
“It did not take the Cookie Monster,” Jean-Pierre said. “In fact, it feels like the Cookie Monster’s responding to us and what we’ve been saying about shrinkflation. I can’t believe I’m having a conversation about the Cookie Monster at the podium.”
The Cookie Monster news cycle started when the White House replied to the Sesame Street character’s post on X on Monday afternoon about hating “shrinkflation.”
“C is for consumers getting ripped off,” the White House wrote. “President Biden is calling on companies to put a stop to shrinkflation.”
Biden’s Competition Council also announced Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had finalized a rule reducing credit card late fees from an average of $32 to $8, that the Federal Communications Commission has proposed a rule that would prohibit “bulk billing” arrangements, and that the president’s administration had cut more than $20 billion in junk fees annually going forward, at least according to his Council of Economic Advisers.
At the same time, Bidenomics is poised to become a pivotal issue for Biden’s election, which will most likely be against former President Donald Trump. Biden’s average approval concerning the economy is net negative 17 percentage points, 40% approval-57% disapproval, according to RealClearPolitics.