Fact Check: Joe Biden Claims Inflation Was at 9% When He Took Office, Again

CLAIM: President Joe Biden claimed during an interview with Yahoo Finance that inflation was nine percent when he took office in January 2021.

VERDICT: FALSE. A report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was at 1.4 percent in January 2021, when Biden came into office.

“I think inflation has gone slightly up, it was at 9% percent when I came in,” Biden said during the interview. “And, it’s now down around 3% percent. But, the fact is, I think people are just uncertain. That’s why we gotta be steady and stay the course and continue to produce these incredible jobs.”

Prior to Biden’s interview with Yahoo Finance, during an interview with CNN on May 8, Biden claimed that inflation had been at nine percent when he came into office.

The fact-checking website Snopes found that Biden’s claim was false and explained that inflation was 1.4 percent when he first entered office. Inflation did not reach 9.1 percent until “nearly a year and a half” after he had been in office.

Inflation has remained high, and in March inflation increased to 3.5 percent, according to CNBC.

Despite inflation remaining high, Biden has continued to blame former President Donald Trump for high inflation rates. During a press conference at the White House in April, Biden said his administration had “dramatically reduced inflation from 9% down to close to 3%.”

As of November 2023, a Big Mac burger meal with a medium drink and a medium-sized fries now costs $18 at McDonald’s, a $10 increase from 2018 when Trump was in office.