The claim that President Biden made about inflation being at nine percent when he took office was false and misleading. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to justify this claim by stating that Biden was highlighting the factors that led to inflation reaching that high, which were already in place when he assumed office. However, this explanation is incorrect.
In reality, inflation was not at nine percent when Biden took office. The consumer price index only rose by 1.4 percent compared to the previous year. Despite this, Biden repeated the false claim multiple times, including in interviews with CNN and Yahoo Finance.
When questioned about Biden’s inaccurate statements, Jean-Pierre defended the president by stating that the factors contributing to high inflation were already present before he took office. However, this argument is misleading and contradicts Biden’s previous statements about inflation.
Economist Larry Summers had warned that the Biden administration’s spending policies would lead to inflation, a prediction that proved to be true. Inflation rose significantly during Biden’s first year in office, reaching levels not seen since 1981.
While some increase in inflation may have been expected as the economy reopened after the pandemic, Biden’s stimulus spending exacerbated the situation. Without the administration’s policies, inflation would not have surged as high as nine percent.
Overall, Biden’s claims about inflation and Jean-Pierre’s attempts to defend them are misleading and do not accurately reflect the situation.
