Vice President Kamala Harris admitted to a small group of supporters Friday that the cost of food has been “too high” under President Biden.
“We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed, but our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high,” the Democratic presidential nominee, 59, said during a campaign stop in Raleigh, NC, in a speech outlining her new economic plan.
“A loaf of bread costs 50% more today than it did before the pandemic,” Harris continued, validating one of former President Donald Trump’s central campaign messaging points, which is that the economy was in far better shape during his presidency.
“Ground beef is up almost 50%,” she added, prompting someone in the intimate audience to exclaim, “Wow.”
The 59-year-old vice president blamed the soaring cost of food on ”bad actors,” such as “big food companies,” which she claimed are “seeing their highest profits in two decades,” and “grocery store chains” that are allegedly “not passing the savings” to consumers.
Notably absent in her critique of food prices under the Biden administration is the role the inflation crisis has played in the cost of groceries.
Harris mentioned inflation only once in her speech, when she celebrated the latest economic data showing it was “down under 3%.”
The US grappled with inflation levels not seen in 40 years — peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 — under Biden, 81.
Harris unveiled her economic plan for the first 100 days of her presidency if elected, at a notably smaller event than most of her previous rallies, which have been packed since being picked to replace Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket.
The Harris campaign said only about 250 people attended the afternoon event at Wake Tech Community College, according to local outlet WBTV.
She called for providing a $25,000 handout to those buying a home for the first time and proposed the “first-ever federal ban on price gauging [gouging] on food” as part of her controversial economic agenda.