Staff Reports
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a hard time answering questions about President Joe Biden’s recent claims about inflation rates during a press briefing. The president had stated that inflation was at nine percent when he took office, but in reality, it was 1.4 percent.
KJP Can't Explain Why Biden Lied Twice In One Week About Inflation
https://t.co/yoqwGUXal7— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 16, 2024
When asked why Biden made these claims, Jean-Pierre struggled to provide a direct response. This is not the first time Biden has made such claims, and this has raised concerns among the public about the accuracy of his statements regarding the economy.
President Biden has made the assertion about inflation rates multiple times, including during an interview with Yahoo! Finance’s Brian Sozzi, where he stated that inflation was at nine percent when he began his term and is now around three percent. He repeated this claim in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
However, data shows that the inflation rate was at 1.4 percent in 2021 and had spiked to nine percent by June 2022, well into Biden’s presidency. As of March 2024, the inflation rate stands at 3.5 percent, which is still above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of two percent.
A comparison with former President Donald Trump’s presidency reveals a significant difference in inflation rates. Under Trump, the average inflation rate was 1.9 percent, while under Biden, it is 5.6 percent. Additionally, the real average weekly earnings rose to 8.2 percent during Trump’s presidency, but it has decreased by 3.9 percent under Biden.
There have also been 36 months with year-over-year inflation at or above three percent during Biden’s presidency, compared to zero such months during Trump’s tenure.
Further questioning about President Biden’s continuous misrepresentation of the inflation rate was directed at White House Economic Advisor Jared Bernstein, who also avoided providing a clear explanation. These recent events have raised concerns about the accuracy of the information being presented to the public regarding the current economic situation.
