In a revealing interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, President Joe Biden asserted that the United States was grappling with a 9% inflation rate when he assumed office, a statement significantly misaligned with the actual figure of 1.4%.
This claim comes after recent polls showed growing voter dissatisfaction with economic management and preference for former President Donald Trump’s approach to economic issues.
“No president has had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation, It was 9% when I came to office — 9%,” President Biden declared during the interview.
His tenure, however, began with inflation at a modest 1.4%, only to see a sharp increase, peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, 17 months later.
The President defended his administration’s economic strategies, claiming success in turning around the economy, despite persistent high inflation and rising interest rates. These comments were made as he prepares for a November electoral rematch against Trump, where economic policies are likely to be a central issue.
Voters have expressed a strong preference for Trump’s economic management, trusting him “by a wide margin” more than Biden, according to Burnett during the interview.
This perception is backed by concerns over substantial increases in living costs under Biden’s presidency — the average prices of goods and services have surged by 19%, compared to an 8% increase during Trump’s term.
During the interview, Biden attributed the high inflation rates to “corporate greed” and “shrinkflation,” a term referring to the reduction of product sizes while maintaining prices. He also reiterated previous attributions to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, prominent Democrats and economists have criticized Biden’s policies, particularly the $1.9 trillion stimulus law passed in March 2021, which they argue contributed significantly to the current inflationary pressures.
Steven Rattner, a Democratic economist, termed this law the “original sin” of the current inflation crisis in a New York Times op-ed.
With less than six months to the election, the economic indicators remain concerning. Credit card debt has soared by 38.7% since Biden took office, with a significant portion of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, and home mortgage rates more than doubling.
Larry Summers, former top economist under President Obama, warned early in Biden’s term that such aggressive stimulus measures might “set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation.”
As the nation moves closer to the polls, the Biden administration faces the challenge of reconciling public perception with economic realities, a task complicated by the President’s recent misstatement on the state of inflation upon his entry into office.