Barrasso Criticizes Biden over Energy and Inflation on Fox Sunday Show

On Sunday, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso criticized President Joe Biden and the Democrats for their handling of inflation and energy policy, while also commenting on Liz Cheney and her chances in the August primary.

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Mike Emanuel asked Barrasso on Fox News Sunday about a Democrat proposal that hopes to raise about a trillion dollars in taxes to fund energy, healthcare, and deficit proposals.

Barrasso said in response that the last COVID-19 relief bill that the Democrats passed in 2021 caused the high inflation that we are seeing now.

"Well what we've seen is with the last big Democrat-only spending bill, it made inflation a lot worse," Barrasso said. "Democrats, the economist who worked for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, said don't do it, it's going to bring out all this inflation, Joe Biden ignored their advice, denied that there was inflation. The American people know what they want. Families are really hurting all across the country. When I talk to people around Wyoming in terms of inflation, they're spending $100 a week more than they were last year just to keep up."

Inflation has increased from 1.4% in January 2021, to 12.6% by May 2022, with energy seeing the biggest increase, going from minus 3.6% to 34.6% over the same time period, however, countries all over the world have been seeing large inflation rates.

Barrasso said, after being asked about how abortion rights will impact the midterms, that when former President Donald Trump was in office, everything was better, though he doesn't clarify what Trump did to lower energy prices or reduce inflation.

"Well, people will make their own decision as to what they vote on and how they decide to vote," Barrasso said. "I will tell you when President Trump was in the white house gas prices were half what they are today. Inflation was non-existent, the border was secure, we were energy independent. Joe Biden is heading to Saudi Arabia hat in hand saying please give us more energy because he's killed energy in America. We need to get back to energy dominance not energy dependence and President Trump got us there."

Barrasso was also asked about Liz Cheney's chances of winning her upcoming primary, and he said in response that he thinks she has to do a lot more campaigning around Wyoming.

"Well Wyoming politics is very personal Mike, it's face to face, it's town to town," Barrasso said. "And as you know Liz and I disagree. I voted against impeachment on President Trump, she was for it. I voted against the partisan January 6 commission, she's all in on that. Now the election isn't for another month the travel that I've done around the state, I think she has a lot of work to do if she hopes to win the primary. You say who's leading right now the people that are doing the best are the people that are selling advertisements and Fox News is doing very well."

While there haven't been too many polls on the Wyoming House primary, of two that have been conducted, one in May and another in June, Harriet Hageman, Cheney's primary opponent, was leading 56 to 26 and 56 to 28 respectively.