The White House was compelled to defend President Joe Biden’s inaccurate assertion that inflation was at 9% when he took office. Biden has repeated this claim twice, but in reality, inflation was only at 1.4% in January 2021. It did reach 9% in June 2022, after Biden had been in office for almost 18 months. When a reporter questioned this inconsistency, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attributed it to broader economic factors.
Jean-Pierre explained that Biden was referring to the factors already in place when he assumed office, such as the pandemic disrupting the economy and supply chains worldwide. Inflation has been a persistent issue for Biden since it started rising in the early months of his presidency, peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 before gradually declining. However, it currently remains elevated at 3.4%, above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Biden initially made the 9% claim in an interview with CNN and later reiterated it in an interview with Yahoo Finance. Republicans were quick to point out the error, with former President Donald Trump criticizing Biden for his handling of inflation.
