Clip: Federal Reserve takes aggressive action to prevent a recession

I want to turn of course to the economy really quickly which is on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three quarters of a percent. This was the central -- biggest rate hike since 1994. This was an aggressive step to try to control the rapid rise in inflation.

Eva, I want to come to you because on one hand you have this conservative judge saying this is president Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy. But also there are people that are hurting financially who are not watching sometimes these hearings. What's your reporting tell you about sort of the tension there and the economic challenges?

McKend : Well, not only are many on the right not watching, they are enraged by these hearings. They are enraged by the suggestion that the former president, that they hold so dear, the suggestion that he is engaged in this thuggish behavior as outlined by the committee.

So that is something that the Democrats have to contend with. Yes, they are trying to do this for the historical record. Yes, they are trying to do this to get to the bottom of what happened. But at the same time, there are many in this country that are not trying to hear this.

I was in North Carolina a few weeks ago with the victor in the Senate Republican primary there, Ted Budd, and the signs up at his rally were Bidenflation signs. That was the most prevalent sign that I saw, because Republicans, that is what they are focusing on. They are putting the blame, whether it is warranted or not, mostly at the feet of President Biden.

Alcindor : And, Scott, what is this sort of political liability here for Democrats and President Biden when they're trying to message out of this, but there are these real economic issues? And the polls show that the president is facing a real sort of dip in his polls amid all these economic fears.

MacFarlane : How do you message out of $5 a gallon gas and grocery prices on a Saturday morning that cost you 50 percent more than a few months ago? Gas and groceries are kryptonite if they're working against you as an incumbent.

And inflation is going to cost something more proverbial. It's going to cost Democrats the ability to have a referendum on the preservation of democracy. It's going to cost Democrats the opportunity potentially to have a referendum on Roe vs. Wade in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling because it's intransigent. If you have voters who are frustrated, angry, or scared by gas and grocery prices, it's hard to have other conversations. I don't know how you can message out of that.

McKend : What I’ve seen is there is real frustration with President Biden because he has long fashioned himself as sort of someone that can connect with the everyman, right? And he is in a position where he really can't feel the pain of that $5 a gallon gas price. Right? But he's still I think is so sort of personally insulted by being a -- characterized as someone that can't relate to everyday Americans.

Alcindor : And, Ayesha, 30 seconds to you, what are you hearing when you think about the sort of economic challenges and politics of all of this?

Rascoe : Well, the politics of it is as was said, you cannot message your way out of this sort of economic pain and even though the president may not be responsible for inflation, he will bear the brunt of the anger and the frustration about it. He is responsible for it now.

Unfortunately, there are not many tools that he can use to try to fix the situation. And there's a lot of suffering ahead for people with these higher prices.

Alcindor : And you can just hear it in the voices of White House officials that I talk to. They are very concerned about these economic challenges. And know that they have to deal with it.

Well, I’ll have to leave it there. Thank you so much for our panel for joining us and for sharing your reporting.