President Joe Biden stated in an interview with Yahoo Finance that inflation stood at nine percent when he assumed office in January 2021. However, a report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was actually at 1.4 percent when Biden took 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.”

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Prior to his interview with Yahoo Finance, President Biden made a claim during a CNN interview on May 8, stating that inflation had been at nine percent when he assumed office. However, the fact-checking website Snopes found this claim to be false. According to Snopes, inflation was actually at 1.4 percent when President Biden first took office. It wasn’t until “nearly a year and a half” later that inflation reached 9.1 percent.

Despite the high inflation rates, President Biden has consistently attributed them to former President Donald Trump. During a press conference at the White House in April, President Biden stated that his administration had successfully reduced inflation from 9 percent to close to 3 percent.

According to CNBC, inflation has remained high, with a recorded increase to 3.5 percent in March. As of November 2023, the cost of a Big Mac burger meal with a medium drink and medium-sized fries at McDonald’s is now $18. This marks a $10 increase from 2018 when President Trump was in office.