Joe Biden Falsely Claims Inflation Improved in June

President Joe Biden falsely claimed inflation actually improved in June, citing narrow datasets to make his case.

The White House issued a statement to reporters from Biden in which he asserted “core inflation” had gone down for three months in a row:

Lastly, annual core inflation is down for the third month in a row. To lower inflation more, without giving up the economic gains we’ve achieved, Congress must act – now. They must work to reduce the cost of everyday expenses for working families.

Send legislation to my desk.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 13, 2022

“Importantly, today’s report shows that what economists call annual ‘core inflation’ came down for the third month in a row, and is the first month since last year where the annual ‘core’ inflation rate is below six percent,” the statement read.

But that talking point is misleading, as economist Jason Furman, the chairman of former President Barack Obama’s economic council, noted on social media:

The 12-month core CPI fell from 6.0% in the year through May to 5.9% in the year through June. But don't get too excited–this is probably not telling you what you think it is.

All it says is that core inflation in the month of June-22 was slightly lower than it was in June-21.

— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) July 13, 2022

“The 12-month core CPI fell from 6.0% in the year through May to 5.9% in the year through June,” he acknowledged. “But don’t get too excited–this is probably not telling you what you think it is.”

He explained that the monthly core inflation numbers only compared the June 2022 numbers to June 2021, and he did not signify a definite trend.

“That means that IF every month going forward looked like June then core inflation would eventually rise from its 5.9 percent 12-month change to something like an 8 percent or 9 percent change,” he continued. “Now I don’t expect that to happen for many reasons, but the new info in June was net worse not net better.”