EXCERPT:
TAPPER: "Do you think that you and the President were wrong, and inflation is not a short-term pop up a little bit and then go back down issue?"
DEESE: "No, I don't think so, Jake. I think what we have said consistently is that the pandemic and the economy are interlinked. And, certainly, we saw, just as the Delta variant posed real health challenges to the economy, it also had economic impacts. More people were consuming goods at home, watching TV, rather than buying a new television, rather than going out to the movies and spending on services. And so that's added to some of the supply chain challenges that we face. But we're seeing these price increases, this inflation globally because of the supply chain challenges associated with COVID. That's why we're going right at attacking those issues right now as well.”