Inflation Has Declined Under Trump, But Quadrupled by This Point in Biden’s Presidency

At this point in Joe Biden’s presidency, inflation had already nearly quadrupled.  

From 1.4% when Biden entered office in January 2021, it hit an alarming 5.2% level by September of that year.  

In contrast, inflation has actually declined under Donald Trump since he began his second term.  From 3.0% in January of this year, it stands at 2.9% today.  

From the mainstream media tenor, however, one would hardly know that.  

Over the past four years, media and their favored clique of economic pundits have treated inflation very differently depending upon which party held the White House.  

That disparity isn’t merely an abstract academic exercise or just another illustration of egregious media bias.  It can have a negative real-world impact.  

To understand how, consider first that consumer spending accounts for approximately two-thirds of the American economy.  Consumer spending, in turn, depends upon consumer sentiment.  And when the media and politically biased pundits artificially dampen consumer sentiment when the President is a Republican but cheerlead when the President is a Democrat, that creates a substantive problem.  

That dishonesty and disparate treatment also inhibits recognizing the economic policies that lead to inflation, and the policies that reduce inflation and boost our economy.  

That dynamic certainly persisted throughout the Biden Administration.  The surge in consumer prices from 1.4% to 5.2% between January and September 2021, and what happened thereafter, was no fluke.  Biden Administration policies – including massive Covid stimulus spending after the economy was already rebounding, or aggressive regulatory moves that constrained energy supply – fueled consumer price spikes.  

As a result, inflation rose to 9.1% by 2022, and never came close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for the remainder of Biden’s tenure.  

Media coverage, however, remained gentle toward the Biden Administration.  As inflation began its steep ascent, Americans were first assured that it was nonexistent, and then merely “transitory.”  By the summer of 2022, however, inflation rose all the way to 9%.  Thereafter, the media used terms like “cooling” when rates ticked a tenth of a percentage point lower, even though they remained painfully high and prices were still climbing faster than paychecks.  

Americans’ everyday reality told a very different story.  By the time that Biden left office, families of four were paying over $1,400 more per month for the same basket of goods and services than they were in January 2021.  

Now contrast that treatment with the prevailing media tone today.  

As noted above, inflation stood at 3.0% when Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, and instead of rising as it did under Biden it has actually declined.  

Despite that reality, media chatter today highlights terms like “inflation remains elevated” and similarly pessimistic headlines.  The same pundits who saw only silver linings while inflation soared to 9% and remained elevated throughout Biden’s term now wring their hands with inflation below 3%.  

As referenced above, all of this matters beyond partisan point-scoring.  

Public perception of inflation influences consumer confidence, business investment, interest rate expectations and even potentially interest rate decisions themselves.  If prevailing media drumbeats minimize price surges under one party but amplify them under the other party, it can distort the economic environment itself.  Investors make decisions based partly upon those media drumbeats.  Voters are also swayed, as polling consistently shows that perceived economic performance remains a prevailing factor in leaders’ approval and election results.  

Accordingly, an informed electorate and sound policy choices depend in part upon an honest, competitive marketplace of ideas.  And that depends in turn upon an honest press.  

And in that vein, whatever one’s politics, inflation’s trajectory from Biden’s inauguration through today is a matter of objective public record.  From 1.4% in January 2021 to 5.2% by September of that year, peaking at 9% the following summer, inflation eased painfully slowly to 3.0% when Biden departed.  As of August, it’s now at 2.9%.  

Until mainstream media and the entrenched clique of media pundits do a much better job of ending their double-standard, Americans would thus be wise to maintain a skeptical eye toward media headlines.  Whether those headlines relate to the cost of living or any other important issue, our ability to make wiser choices going forward depends upon such healthy skepticism.

Timothy H. Lee is Senior Vice President of legal and public affairs at the Center for Individual Freedom.

Reprinted with Permission from CFIF.org – By Timothy H. Lee

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.