The smiles and hugs that President Joe Biden received from kids during his visit to a Connecticut childcare center could soon turn to disappointment as the continued supply chain crisis could ruin their Christmas cheer.
Biden, who was in Connecticut on Friday to discuss his Build Back Better agenda, greeted children from the Capitol Child Development Center in Hartford and posed with a banner they made for him that said Welcome Joe Biden.
It was a moment of sweet relief for Biden after former Walmart President and CEO Bill Simon became the latest person to criticize the president's plan to tackle the imminent threat to the holiday season, calling it 'a mess from start to finish.'
President Joe Biden stopped by the Capitol Child Development Center to greet children in Hartford, Connecticut
The president gave out hugs, conversed and played with the kids on the playground on Friday
Biden allowed the children and center staff to show him a tour of the playground
The president was at the scene to tout his Build Back Better program, which included provision for universal pre-K, childcare assistance, the extension of the child tax credit and tuition-free community college
Biden also posed for photos with the children and held a banner they made, welcoming him to the center
On Wednesday, Biden announced that West Coast shipping ports will be open around the clock to alleviate a near-record backlog of more than 60 cargo ships currently waiting near the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports.
The administration also said that companies like Walmart, UPS and FedEx have committed to extending their hours for the next 90 days to ensure deliveries for the holidays.
But Simon and supply chain analysts say that the tactic is flawed and will not do enough to tackle the problem.
'There's a shortage of labor in our distribution system and there's a shortage of people to put [items] on the shelf,' Simon told Fox Business.
He urged the president to tackle the labor shortage at the ports and delivery systems in order to clear the cargo ships and restock bare shelfs in stores nationwide that sparked the hashtag #EmptyShelvesJoe.
'I've never seen it like this, and I don't really think anybody living in this country has. I mean, this is really unprecedented.'
Brian Whitlock, a supply chain analyst, told Business Insider that Biden's plan would barely help.
'It's great that they've chosen to do something, but we're talking about a less than 1% to 2% change here,' Whitlock said. 'The work that they're talking about here is going to be immaterial. It probably won't even be visible.'
Bill Simon, the former president and CEO of Walmart, said Biden's plan to tackle the supply crunch was inadequate
More than 60 cargo ships hover around the Los Angeles port as they wait for their turn to dock
The cargo ships are at a near-record backlog as they wait by the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports
The ships are filled with thousands of containers of goods and products that are set to impact the holiday season
There are an estimated 500,000 containers that need to be processed in the West Coast
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has also drawn criticism over the supply crunch, defended the president's plan during an interview with Fox New's Bret Baier on Friday.
Baier noted that Biden's plan has been described 'too little, too
