Fact Check: Joe Biden Falsely Claims Inflation Was 9% When He Took Office

CLAIM: President Joe Biden alleged Wednesday on CNN that inflation was nine percent when he “came into office.”

VERDICT: False. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for January 2021, the latest reading when Biden assumed office, was 1.4 percent.

After Biden took office, inflation soared to historic highs not seen since the early 1980s due in large part to Biden’s massive spending packages.

Biden’s inflation peaked in June 2022 at a year-over-year rate of 9.0 percent, nearly one and a half years after he took office. Inflation remains sticky and recently rose again. In March, inflation increased to 3.5 percent.

The average Wisconsin family lost $21,981 due to the increased cost of living under Biden, the Republican National Committee estimated in May.

A McDonald’s Big Mac burger, a medium beverage, and a medium fry meal cost $18 in some locations, up $10 from 2018 when Donald Trump was president.

“[N]o president’s had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “It was nine percent when I came into office, nine percent.”

“There’s corporate greed going on out there, and it’s got to be dealt with,” Biden blamed small and large businesses.

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Burnett pushed back. “Voters, by a wide margin, trust Trump more on the economy — they say that in polls — and part of the reason for that may be the numbers,” Burnett told Biden during his swing-state trip to Wisconsin.

“The cost of buying a home in the United States is double what it was — when you look at your monthly costs — from before the pandemic. Real income, when you account for inflation, is actually down since you took office,” Burnett continued, “economic growth, last week, fell short of expectations. Consumer confidence — maybe no surprise — is near a two-year low.”