Conservatives Mock Biden's 'Shrinkflation' Video About Super Bowl Snacks

Ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, President Joe Biden on Sunday in a video called on snack companies to stop "shrinkflation", the practice of cutting product sizes but keeping prices the same, sparking criticism from conservatives across social media.

Since taking office, Biden has grappled with an economy that saw inflation soar to its highest level in 40 years. Although Biden has made a pitch for lower supermarket prices and pushed drug makers to lower insulin costs through his Bidenomics initiative, Biden's re-election efforts have been met with skepticism in voter polls, particularly when it comes to the economy.

Meanwhile, shrinkflation has been a growing issue over the past few years despite inflation appearing to be slowing. In December, Senator Bob Casey released a report that showed the impact of smaller product sizes. The report noted that household paper products were 34.9 percent more expensive per unit than they were in January 2019, with about 10.3 percent of the increase due to producers shrinking the sizes of rolls and packages. In addition, the report showed the price of snacks like Oreos and Doritos had gone up 26.4 percent over the same period, with shrinking portions accounting for 9.8 percent of the increase.

On Sunday, Biden shared a video to X, formerly Twitter, in which he made a nod to popular snacks fans eat on game day such as Doritos and Oreos. In the video, Biden called on snack companies to stop shrinkflation, adding that it is "a rip-off."

"Some companies are trying to pull a fast one by shrinking the products little by little and hoping you won't notice. Give me a break. The American public is tired of being played for suckers. I'm calling on companies to put a stop to this. Let's make sure businesses do the right thing now," Biden said in the video.

However, in the video, Biden offered no solutions or policies to address the practice of shrinkflation.

Newsweek has reached out to Biden's campaign and the White House via email for comment.

Since sharing the video, some conservatives have taken to X to criticize Biden over his economic policies.

Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, shared her response to the video, calling the video "truly offensive."

"Thank you Joe Biden for reminding the American people that we have #Bidenflation as we go to the grocery store for Super Bowl Sunday. It is truly offensive that Joe Biden and the White House think the American people are stupid. Only the sycophant stenographers in the mainstream media lap up this desperate attempt from Joe Biden to pass the buck," Stefanik wrote on X.

Stefanik, an ally of former President Donald Trump continued by taking aim at Biden's presidential campaign and tensions at the southern border.

"The American people are smart. Bidenflation is because of Joe Biden. The catastrophic open border is because of Joe Biden. The abysmal polling numbers for Joe Biden are because of Joe Biden. Keep digging, Joe Biden. Terrible campaign strategists and advisors. Even more abysmal President. Your polls will plummet even more," Stefanik added.

House Judiciary GOP also criticized Biden writing on X, "Joe Biden complains about 'shrinkflation,' forgetting that he's the cause."

While X user, Capitalist Mike noted this is not the first time shrinkflation has hit the country stating, "Joe Biden tells everyone with any economic sense whatsoever He doesn't understand he's the one that caused the shrinkflation For those of us that are old enough to remember and those educated in economics knows that shrinkflation also occurred during Jimmy Carter's presidency."

Biden's pre-Super Bowl video comes after he turned down the traditional presidential pre-Super Bowl interview, insisting this is to allow viewers to focus on football instead of "hearing from a politician."

Starting in 2004, the network broadcasting the Super Bowl airs an interview with the current president before the game, typically pre-taped on the preceding Friday.