FactChecking Biden on Inflation, Other Claims

When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the U.S. annual rate of inflation was 1.4% — far from the 9% inflation Biden falsely said in a May 8 interview that he inherited. Inflation rose quickly in Biden’s first year, but it didn’t hit 9% until 17 months into his presidency.

Biden made that claim — and several others we’ve fact-checked before — in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett. While responding to Burnett’s question about voter concerns about the economy, Biden touted the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But no president’s had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation. It was 9% when I came to office, 9%,” Biden said.

He’s wrong about inflation, which, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 1.4% year over year in January 2021, the month that Biden became president.