The U.S. president made the claim in an interview with CNN journalist Erin Burnett.
Claim:
Inflation was at 9% when U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Rating:
Context:
Inflation was 1.4% when Biden took office. It reached 9.1% nearly a year and a half into his presidency, coinciding with a period of rapid economic growth.
As he defended his record in an interview that aired on May 8, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett that inflation was at 9% when he took office:
After comparing Biden’s statement with U.S. government statistics, we rate this claim “False.” When Biden became president, inflation was at 1.4%.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of some of the country’s key economic indicators, including the year-over-year percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, the most widely used gauge for inflation.
A 1% change indicates that the cost of a basket of goods and services has increased 1% over the previous 12 months.
