Biden Repeats False Inflation Claim
President Biden faced criticism for repeating a false claim about inflation, misleadingly stating it was 9% at the start of his presidency. Fact-checkers debunked this, confirming inflation was at 1.4% when he assumed office. The incident was widely shared on social media, drawing attention from journalists and the Republican National Committee, leading to further scrutiny and accusations of dishonesty.
For the second time in a week, President Joe Biden made a false claim about inflation — and he did not get away with it as journalists and political rivals called him out on it.
Biden told Yahoo Finance in an interview on Tuesday that inflation was at 9% when he became president back in January 2021.
However, as fact-checkers pointed out when Biden made the same assertion during a CNN town hall last week, inflation actually was at 1.4% when he took office.
The latest gaffe by the president got posted to social media by the press and the Republican National Committee (RNC), who also noted the correct statistic
A week after fact-checkers corrected Biden’s claim to CNN that inflation was at 9% when he became president, the president repeats it to @YahooFinance
“It was at 9% when I came in”It was 1.4% https://t.co/jkvPGd2ZLx pic.twitter.com/XnMha9kuJu
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 14, 2024
“All Biden does is LIE!” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who is now a U.S. Senate candidate, said on X in response to one of the posts.
“Who told him this? Is he lying or does he have no idea what’s going on?” asked RNC strategic communications director Tommy Pigott.
“Inflation first hit 9% in June 2022, over a year after Biden took office,” Pigott added. “Inflation didn’t begin accelerating until after Biden forced through his $1.9 trillion ‘stimulus.’”
Polling from Gallup conducted last month showed that Americans named inflation or the high cost of living as the most important financial problem facing their family.
GALLUP: Trend in Mentions of Inflation as the Most Important Family Financial Problem
• April 2020 — 3%
• April 2021 — 8%
• April 2022 — 32%
• April 2023 — 35%
• April 2024 — 41% (all-time high)
—
What is the most important financial problem facing your family today?… pic.twitter.com/gHYQURUdRU— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 14, 2024
Forty-one percent selected inflation or the high cost of living for the open-ended question, which is the highest figure yet in Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll.
The implication of Biden’s incorrect claim is that the rate was high when he took over the White House from Donald Trump, who like Biden is running another presidential campaign this year.
While speaking about inflation with Yahoo Finance, Biden said he believed the rate had gone “slightly up” and “it’s now down to about 3%.”
Alluding to concerns about the economy, Biden said, “The fact is that I think people are just uncertain and that’s why we’ve got to be steady — stay the course.”
Biden then contended that “pay for the jobs are outpacing the inflation rate they’re paying.” He added, “We’re going to be able to deal with this,” before stressing, “It’s going to take a little more time.”
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