In the midst of Super Bowl Sunday, President Joe Biden found himself in hot water following a video he posted on social media. In the video, Biden addressed the issue of “shrinkflation,” a phenomenon where companies reduce the size of their products while maintaining the same price. This move by President Biden invoked a flurry of criticism and backlash online.
The video, shared via his official government account, comes on the backdrop of years of high-interest rates, largely sparked by the Democrat-led House and Senate’s approval of his American Rescue Plan during the early days of his presidency.
In the video, Biden said, “It’s Super Bowl Sunday. If you’re anything like me, you like to be surrounded by a snack or two while watching the big game. You know when buying snacks for the game, you might have noticed one thing: sports drinks bottles are smaller, a bag of chips has fewer chips, but they’re still charging us just as much. As an ice cream lover what makes me most angry is that ice cream cartons have actually shrunk in size, not in price.”
While you were Super Bowl shopping, did you notice smaller-than-usual products where the price stays the same?
Folks are calling it Shrinkflation and it means companies are giving you less for every dollar you spend.
I’m calling on the big consumer brands to put a stop to it. pic.twitter.com/wL1NsEh78F
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 11, 2024
The president did not mince words about his frustration with the situation, stating, “I’ve had enough of what they call shrinkflation. It’s a rip off. Some companies are trying to pull a fast one by shrinking the products little by little and hoping you won’t notice. Give me a break. The American public is tired of being played for suckers. I’m calling on companies to put a stop to this. Let’s make sure businesses do the right thing now.”
However, Biden’s video did not sit well with many on social media, where it was viewed millions of times. Charles C.W. Cooke, a writer, commented, “Imagine how little respect you must have for voters to try this.”
Tom Bevan, President of RealClearPolitics, expressed his disbelief, stating, “This is insane. Biden is getting some really terrible advice.”
Seattle-based conservative radio host Jason Rantz took to social media to express his thoughts: “Joe Biden couldn’t do a Super Bowl interview because it would have been passed his bedtime, but he did have time to post a propaganda video hoping you won’t realize shrinkflation is a result of inflation courtesy of Bidenomics.”
Podcast host Stephen L. Miller and writer Jordan Schachtel also chimed in, with Schachtel stating that “Shrinkflation is just a way to hide prices going up. Without it, the economic shitshow becomes much more obvious.”
The overall sentiment among critics was that this was an attempt by the president to shift blame for inflation away from his policies and onto corporations. They predicted that this argument would not hold water for long and the video would soon fade away without any official endorsement.
