‘We ARE in a recession!’ Home Depot co-founder calls out Biden’s gaslighting as he insists US economy has entered downturn and says president is to blame for inflation

• 
  Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot, stood by his assertion that the US is in a recession and blamed President Biden for the downturn
• Langone said the problems are ’caused by the policies of the [Biden] administration’
• The entrepreneur from New York helped is a well-known donor of the Republican Party
• Langone’s warning comes as a key measure of inflation in the United States has risen again, hitting a new four-decade high

By JOSEPH MICHALITSIANOS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Home Depot’s co-founder has blasted Joe Biden‘s claim that the US isn’t in a recession, says the economy is going down – and added that the president’s economic policies were to blame for rocketing inflation.  

Ken Langone appeared on Fox’s ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’ Friday, and said: ‘Here’s where we are. And by the way, I don’t care how you want to define it. 

‘We can agree to one thing. The economy is receding. It’s going down. Now, you want to call it a recession or not – play with the words. 

‘But the fact of the matter is, the economy is going down. Every place I’m looking, I’m seeing signs of pullback. … This is serious stuff. And we are in a recession.’

Langone said President Biden was a source of the ‘pullback,’ and blasted his focus on green energy policies, which he says have ended the energy independence the US achieved under Donald Trump, sending the White House back into the arms of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. 

‘In many respects, it was caused by the policies of the [Biden] administration,’ he said. ‘Today, the president goes over with his hat in his hand to Saudi Arabia and begs them to turn the pipes up.’

Langone, who hails from New York, helped co-found Home Depot in 1974 and is a well-known donor of the Republican Party. +7View gallery

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone appeared on Fox to discuss the economy and stood by his recession claims, saying ‘the fact of the matter is, the economy is going down’
Fox News Privacy Policy+7View gallery

Quarterly GDP growth is seen over the past four years, showing the pandemic recession in early 2020 and the current contraction cycle+7View gallery

Langone said President Biden was a source of the ‘pullback,’ and blasted his handling of energy policies. The entrepreneur from New York is a well-known donor of the Republican Party.

Langone said he feels strongly about inflation because it ‘hits the lower-income people more than anybody else.’

Earlier this week, Biden sought to claim that the US wasn’t in a recession. He made the assertion despite figures showing two successive quarters of negative economic growth – the classic definition of a recession. 

Langone’s warning comes as a key measure of inflation in the United States has risen again, hitting a new four-decade high as the Federal Reserve attempts to navigate the twin threats of rising prices and a shrinking economy.   

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index soared 6.8 percent in the 12 months through June, the biggest increase since January 1982 and a jump from May’s reading of 6.3 percent.

The PCE measure, which is preferred by the Federal Reserve for its flexible 2 percent target rate, is an alternative gauge to the better-known consumer price index, which jumped 9.1 percent in June from a year ago. 

Both measures are released monthly, and use different methods to calculate how much prices have risen for the average consumer.    

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index shot up 0.6 percent from the prior month after climbing 0.3 percent in May, in another sign that inflation is trending hot. 

The so-called core PCE price index increased 4.8 percent on an annual basis in June after rising 4.7 percent in May. 

The Commerce Department’s report on Friday also showed that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, rose 1.1 percent last month from May, more than expected. 

The bump in consumer spending was nominally good news for the economy — but nearly all of the increase was due to inflation, the report revealed.

Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose only 0.1 percent in June from the prior month. That was still a gain over May’s inflation-adjusted change of -0.3 percent.

The latest data comes on a week of turbulent economic news that is forcing the Federal Reserve into a dilemma as it weighs monetary policy. 

The Fed has been raising its benchmark interest rate aggressively to tackle inflation, adding on another supersized 0.75 point rate hike on Wednesday.

But the central bank faces tough choices about whether to continue raising rates after new data on Thursday showed the US economy contracted for the second quarter in a row. ….more here

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