House Republican leaders did everything in their power to warn of impending doom and gloom this Christmas, but it was all for naught.
“House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy joined 159 House Republicans in a letter to President Biden saying his policies ‘will certainly ensure that this Christmas will not be merry’ because of a ‘supply chain crisis’ and inflation. Chairman Jim Banks of the House Republican Study Committee, citing the same reasons, wrote to colleagues: ‘Our job as Republicans is to explain to the American people what the grinches at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave did to ruin Christmas,’ The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank wrote in his new column.
Except the “grinches at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave” didn’t actually ruin Christmas.
CNBC reported this week: “As shoppers kick off a wave of returns and exchanges or rush in to spend gift cards, retailers appear to have reason to celebrate: Holiday spending rose 8.5% compared with a year ago, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. The gain was slightly less than the 8.8% increase that Mastercard had predicted, but it was the biggest annual increase 17 years.”
Former Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes made his own predictions in October, warning Americans of a “miserable” Christmas. “I’m coining it [and] calling it the Biden Blue Christmas,” Cortes said.
Between the Biden administration’s prioritization of addressing supply-chain delays and shelves being stocked – virtually and otherwise – Christmas was actually anything but ruined for Americans.