President Joe Biden falsely claimed during an interview with Yahoo Finance that inflation was at nine percent when he took office in January 2021. In reality, a report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was only at 1.4 percent in January 2021.
Despite being fact-checked by CNN and other sources, Biden repeated the incorrect statement during his interview with Yahoo Finance. He also blamed former President Donald Trump for high inflation rates, stating that his administration had reduced inflation from 9% to close to 3%.
Inflation has remained high, with rates increasing to 3.5% in March according to CNBC. This is a significant increase from the 1.4% rate when Biden first took office. For example, the cost of a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s has risen to $18 as of November 2023, a $10 increase from 2018 when Trump was in office.
