US News

WH chief of staff slammed over post calling supply chain crisis ‘high class problems’

White House chief of staff Ronald Klain is facing fire for retweeting a post that described a nationwide supply-chain crunch and rising inflation as “high class problems.” 

Klain quote-tweeted a post Wednesday from Harvard economist Jason Furman and approvingly wrote “This” with two emoji hands pointing at the original tweet. 

“Most of the economic problems we’re facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn’t have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem,” Furman wrote.

The economist was apparently referring to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell saying the employment rate in January was around 10 percent. 

Furman said his comment was his own “social judgment,” but critics slammed Klain for appearing to agree with it and accused him of downplaying issues impacting the finances of ordinary Americans with the let-them-eat-cake response. 

Ronald Klain shared a post from Harvard professor Jason Furman. Twitter

“Inflation is NOT a ‘high class problem.’ Inflation is a tax on working Americans & those on fixed incomes,” Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) tweeted. “The Biden/Harris White House is completely out of touch.”

The House Republican Policy Committee called Klain’s tweet “outrageous.” 

“Just the White House Chief of Staff calling the rising price of gas, food, and housing a ‘high class’ problem. Outrageous! The American people are hurting and deserve better leadership,” the committee tweeted.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the third-ranking House Republican, and advocacy group Independent Women’s Voice mimicked Klain’s use of emojis, using the same one to criticize his post. 

“This…is WRONG. Reminder — inflation is a tax on EVERY American,”  Stefanik wrote.

“Disconnected from reality,” Independent Women’s Voice wrote, followed by the emoji. 

The US is grappling with supply-chain bottlenecks amid worker shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Stefanik highlighted Klain’s post again, telling social media users that “this is what the Biden Administration thinks of the American people.” 

“High class intellects and low class American workers. (By the way – working class Americans are the ones who save scrupulously for the holidays for their kids!!)” she wrote. “An absolute disgrace.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sought to clean up after Klain during her daily press briefing on Thursday.

“What the point is here is that we are at this point because we’ve made progress in the economy. And what would be worse, in our view, is if the unemployment rate was at 10 percent, people were out of work, hundreds of thousands of people were still dying of COVID and people were able to lose their homes. So, that’s the full context,” she said.

Psaki scoffed at a reporter’s question about whether Klain’s tweeting should be better policed by the White House.

“Are we addressing the chief of staff’s Twitter habits? It is not a top priority, I would tell you, at this point in time,” Psaki said.

But Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) questioned how Klain could be “this out of touch with reality.” 

“American families are spending $175+ more per month on living expenses and the White House’s answer is ‘well it could be worse’?!” the representative tweeted.

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) accused the administration of switching up its messaging when it comes to inflation. 

“First, the Biden Admin said inflation was a ‘short-term’ issue. Now, it’s a ‘high class’ problem,” Rep. Steve Womack jabbed at Ron Klain. Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

“First, the Biden Admin said inflation was a ‘short-term’ issue. Now, it’s a ‘high class’ problem. Products Arkansans need to put food on the table, fuel their homes and cars, get to work, and clothe their kids are NOT ‘high-class’ supplies. They impact family budgets daily,” he tweeted. 

It is not the first time a retweet has put Klain under fire, as just last month, the chief of staff appeared to admit President Biden’s labor-related vaccine mandate was the “ultimate work-around” to issuing a federal vaccine mandate. 

The same day as Biden’s speech mandating two-thirds of all US workers to get COVID-19 shots, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle tweeted that the move is “the ultimate work-around for the Federal govt to require vaccinations” — which Klain retweeted to his feed.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) slammed the move as “foolish” and called it an indication that the “admin knows it’s likely illegal” to force businesses to implement vaccine rules under penalty of massive fines.

“Important. Foolish RT from WH chief of staff,” Cruz wrote at the time, sharing a screenshot of Klain’s retweet. “He said the quiet part out loud. Biden admin knows it’s likely illegal (like the eviction moratorium) but they don’t care.” 

Klain’s Wednesday tweet comes as the US faces a massive supply-chain crisis that threatens the timely delivery of everyday consumer goods and holiday gifts.