The White House was dragged on Tuesday for tweeting a chart that showed inflation is lower than it was last summer — even though the chart also showed that inflation had skyrocketed after President Joe Biden was sworn in.
In the post, the White House celebrated inflation reaching 4%, the lowest rate since March 2021, claiming the lower rate “is giving families real breathing room.” The chart may have not been the clear victory sign the Biden administration was going for, though, as it showed the massive increase in inflation from January 2021 to May 2022 when it reached 9% under the current president’s watch.
“Great news: Today’s inflation report shows annual inflation is now at the lowest level since March 2021, and less than half of what it was last June,” the White House tweeted. “This is giving families real breathing room.”
Great news: Today’s inflation report shows annual inflation is now at the lowest level since March 2021, and less than half of what it was last June.
This is giving families real breathing room. pic.twitter.com/l5k3B9WU2t
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 13, 2023
The U.S. inflation rate reached a 40-year high of 9.1% under Biden’s presidency, while the inflation rate under former President Donald Trump hovered around 2% and even hit an average of 1.2% in Trump’s last full year in the White House. Conservatives took to Twitter, blasting the tweet as another Biden blunder.
“Great News: The admin points out that the moment Joe Biden took office, inflation took off!” said Steve Guest, former communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“You’re bragging about prices continuing to increase?” Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), asked.
“Last year I gained 9 lbs. This year I only gained 4. Am I losing weight?” one Twitter user asked.
Fox News contributor Justin Haskins argued that the White House’s argument gaslights people who don’t understand how inflation works.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
“This is so dishonest! [The WhiteHouse] knows most don’t understand inflation. Inflation going down does not mean there is more ‘breathing room.’ It means the rate of price increases is slowing, but still going up. We are paying more than ever! We need DEFLATION for prices to go down,” Haskins tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Haskins added that it’s “outrageous that the mainstream press is not HAMMERING Mr. Biden for these comments.”
The slight inflation rate decrease in May came as a result of lower gas prices and increases in grocery prices and other items, POLITICO reported. The recent decrease in inflation isn’t likely to convince policymakers at the Federal Reserve that the U.S. is out of the woods because “core” prices, which the Fed mainly focuses on, rose for the sixth straight month in May.