The White House is allegedly “in denial and out of touch” with Americans about the status of the economy, according to CNN host Jake Tapper on Thursday.

Gene Sperling, a top adviser to President Joe Biden, was questioned by Tapper about the president’s denial of the country’s economic crisis.

A study published on Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) determined that the GDP fell for the second consecutive quarter in 2022 by 0.9 percent. A recession is defined as having a negative GDP for two consecutive quarters, according to economist Julius Shiskin’s 1974 declaration. Although this definition is common, it does not serve as the definitive sign that a nation is experiencing a recession.

Doesn’t this semantic argument risk giving the impression that the White House is out of touch with the people struggling in the country?

Jake Tapper suggests #recession spin is making the Biden Admin appear "in denial and out of touch." pic.twitter.com/EbG2R048Vb

— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) July 28, 2022

Jake, not at all, Sperling said. “Let’s recognize that every family is the world’s foremost authority on how they are faring, and we completely understand the degree to which so many Americans feel squeezed and pinched by the higher prices at the gas pump — even though gas prices are down $0.75 now — squeezed at the grocery line by the impacts of global inflation on the U.S. We acknowledge that we feel that way.

The advisor hailed the 2.7 million jobs and three percent increase in the private sector within the first half of 2022, which he claimed contradicted the “historical definition” of a recession and claimed the country saw historic job growth in 2021.

According to Tapper, there have been two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. “That is an ugly fact, and traditionally that is how a recession has been understood in common parlance.”

“I’m just reminding people that those six months, which many would claim were in a recession, are the same six months in which we increased by 2.7 million jobs and that only last year has ever seen that many, with 1946 being the second-closest year to that in terms of several jobs.”

According to Sperling, people “should be extremely satisfied” with the legislation because it promises to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, healthcare premiums for 13 million people, energy expenses, and the deficit by $300 billion.

“We’re able to use those revenues to deliver these benefits, these incentives for job creation here and production in the United States, by just requiring the wealthiest firms pay some little fair amount. In addition, we are paying for them, which is reducing the deficit and containing inflation.

According to Tapper, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has warned that the plan will “discourage investment and harm economic growth.” According to the economic advisor, the law only levies a minimum tax on businesses with $1 billion in profits.