Fact Check: Biden Says Economy Had Zero Inflation in July

In response to Wednesday's monthly inflation data, President Joe Biden said the U.S. economy had "zero percent inflation" in July.

"I want to say a word about news that came out today relative to the economy. Actually, I just want to say a number: zero," Biden said at the White House. "Today we received news that our economy had zero percent inflation in the month of July." Biden was likely describing the monthly inflation rate. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a common gauge of the price of goods in the U.S., was essentially unchanged from June to July. However, the CPI was up 8.5% in July from a year earlier, according to the same report.

Many Republican lawmakers criticized Biden for purportedly "gaslighting" and cherrypicking data to paint the economy as healthier than it actually is. This criticism was reflected in coverage from many right-rated sources, some of which described Biden's claim as false. Several left-rated outlets and journalists defended Biden's remark as accurate, and highlighted other positive aspects of the inflation report, such as how core inflation rose at its slowest pace since September 2021.