Neil Cavuto engages in a heated verbal exchange with Harris' economic adviser over who blames inflation

Fox News host Neil Cavuto and Gene Sperling, a former economic adviser to the Biden administration who works for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, engaged in a lengthy argument Thursday over who was responsible for the high prices.

Vice President Kamala Harris proposed allowing the Federal Trade Commission to impose “tough penalties” for “price gouging” by grocery stores in an Aug. 16 speech in North Carolina. Sperling dodged Cavuto's question about Harris' proposal before the Fox News host asked him who was responsible for inflation under the Biden administration, which peaked at 9% in June 2022. (RELATED: ‘You’re putting words in my mouth’: Hakeem Jeffries hits back at CNBC host who asks him about Democrats’ role in inflation)

“Do you think it's wise to point the finger at others when much of this – innocent or not – could have come from this government, of which she was a key figure, and many of the spending initiatives had a habit of driving up prices? Do you think that's possible?” Cavuto asked Sperling.

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Sperling responded by asking if Cavuto had heard the speech, which led to a back-and-forth, with Sperling refusing to answer whether inflation was the cause of the Biden administration's spending initiatives. Larry Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under then-President Bill Clinton, and former Obama administration economic adviser Steve Rattner both warned of the potential for inflation that could result from President Joe Biden's proposed spending.

“Do you or the government take the blame? Do you take the blame, Gene? Gene, I love you very much, but I think it's a simple question. I have no agenda, the right and the left hate me,” Cavuto said as Sperling tried to coax him. “Let's get this cleared up. Let me ask you this: Is it possible that this government takes some blame just for the double-digit increase in food prices? Any blame at all? Do you take any blame at all? Should they take any blame for that?”

“No,” Sperling replied, claiming the cause was supply chain problems and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since Harris and President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, prices have risen by more than 20%.

“So you did nothing wrong, nothing wrong,” Cavuto said. “And you're right, inflation has come down dramatically from those high levels in 2022. But when it actually went up, and double digits, and food prices went up so much, do you think your spending had anything to do with it – anything at all?” (RELATED TOPIC: 'This will probably just drive up prices': Washington Post columnist criticizes Kamala Harris' economic plan on CNN)

“I don't think it was a significant factor, and I think the increase in food prices caused by the invasion of Ukraine hurt us a little bit, too. Several things happened,” Sperling claimed. “Neil, I just want to say something. [Harris] She didn't say that was the only reason for the higher prices, but that when someone is committing nefarious acts, when someone is exploiting, she wants to have the power, as she did as a prosecutor and attorney general and as 40 attorneys general are doing right now, to crack down on it. I want to be clear, we don't use a pricing mechanism, we don't use an automatic pricing mechanism. But if you go back to your original question: What is she doing when she speaks to the American people? Is she showing that she's on their side? Is she just boasting about numbers or is she sensitive to their concerns?”

Cavuto and Sperling discussed the factors behind the high prices some more before Cavuto ended the segment.

“We saved a lot of time by talking over each other, but good luck, we'll see what happens,” Cavuto said.

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