President Joe Biden responded to reports of empty shelves across the country Wednesday, arguing that store shelves are in fact “89%” full.
Biden made the statement in response to questions at a White House press briefing Wednesday, the second of his presidency. Americans have suffered from rising prices and supply chain chaos resulting in empty store shelves for months, thanks largely to the resurgence of COVID-19 variants.
“Notwithstanding the recent storms that have impacted many parts of our country, the share of goods in stock at stores is 89% now, which is barely changed from the 91% before the pandemic,” Biden said. “I often see empty shelves being shown on television. 89% are fully, which is only a few points below what it was before the pandemic.”
