Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. It seems like President Donald Trump has decided to use fake inflation numbers to make himself look better. According to CNN, Trump has been lying about inflation throughout the midterm election campaign, claiming that he has “already stopped the inflation” and that prices are now “way down” from when former president Joe Biden left office in January 2025. But the actual numbers tell a different story. The year-over-year inflation rate was 3.7% in September, 3.4% in August, and 3.4% in July. That’s not exactly what I’d call “way down”.
In a recent rally speech in Alaska, Trump claimed that there was just “1.7 inflation in the last three months. Think of that, 1.7. He (Biden) had real inflation; he had real inflation of 19%.” But the White House has so far ignored requests for an explanation, and experts say that the “1.7% inflation figure is not supported by the data.” It’s possible that Trump is simply lying about the year-over-year inflation rates, or maybe he’s making a highly dishonest comparison of cumulative inflation.
Heather Long, chief economist for Navy Federal Credit Union, said that “the 1.7% inflation figure is not supported by the data.” And it’s not just Trump’s numbers that are questionable – his claim that Biden had “19% inflation” is also way off. The peak year-over-year inflation under Biden was 9.1%, which is high, but not even close to 19%. And let’s not forget that the total increase in prices over Biden’s four-year term as president was 21.4%, according to the CPI.
It’s also possible that Trump is misstating a fair point from his adviser, Kevin Hassett, who said that “core” PCE inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was at an annualized rate of 2% for the three months from June through August. But even that wouldn’t justify Trump’s “1.7%” figure, and it’s not clear why he wouldn’t just say “2%” instead of making something up.
And one more thing: Biden didn’t leave Trump the worst inflation ever. The year-over-year inflation rate was 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3% in January 2025, the month Trump took over partway through. Those numbers are unremarkable by historical standards, nowhere near any record, and lower than the rate every month since Trump launched a war with Iran early this year.
So, to sum it up, Trump is using fake inflation numbers to make himself look better, and it’s just not working. The actual numbers show that inflation is still a problem, and Trump’s claims are just a bunch of hot air. Bless their hearts for trying, but it’s just not fooling anyone. And as I always say, you can’t make this stuff up – but it seems like Trump is trying to! 😂
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
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