Biden sticks to his guns on flawed inflation assertions

President Joe Biden, still claiming to be improving the economy, reiterated on Wednesday that inflation “was 9% when I came to office,” despite conflicting federal reports.

“No president has achieved what we have in terms of job creation and reducing inflation,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “It was 9% when I took office.”

However, The New York Post pointed out that inflation stood at 1.4% when Biden assumed office in January 2021.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, overall inflation was at 1.4% in January 2021. It surged to 4.2% by April 2021 and peaked at 9.1%, a 40-year high, by June 2022.

As of March, inflation was at 3.5%, 2.1 percentage points higher than when Biden took office.

In April, after the BLS released March reports, Biden made similar claims, attributing the rapid price increase to former President Donald Trump and asserting that his administration had significantly reduced inflation from 9% to close to 3%.

“We are in a better position now compared to when we took office, with inflation soaring,” Biden said at that time.

When Burnett questioned him about polls showing higher trust in Trump’s economic handling, Biden maintained that he has already turned the economy around, despite high interest rates and inflation.

Critics of Biden argue that the large spending bills passed in his first year contributed to inflation.

According to BLS figures, the average cost of goods and services has increased by 19% over the past four years. Prices rose by 8% during Trump’s tenure.

Though home prices have doubled since the pandemic and consumer confidence is at a two-year low, Biden dismissed these concerns by suggesting that polling data has been consistently inaccurate.

“According to the [University of] Michigan survey, 65% of Americans believe they are in a good economic position,” he stated. “They may not see the nation as doing well, but they feel personally secure.”

Previously blaming high inflation on COVID-19 supply chain disruptions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden now attributes it to “shrinkflation” and “corporate greed.”

“It’s frustrating to see prices rise despite people having the means to spend,” Biden expressed. “For instance, companies like Snickers have reduced product sizes by 20% while maintaining the same price. This is a result of corporate greed that we must address.”