Inflation slowed slightly in April, but even the slowing in price growth revealed this week adds to the numbers that will likely be the Biden campaign’s most intractable economic challenge of the 2024 campaign season. Ta.
Prices, as measured by the seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI), have risen more than 19.4% in the more than three years since President Biden took office.
Cumulative inflation has been a focus for Republicans in recent months, and that trend continued Wednesday, with new data showing the statistic is inching closer to the psychologically important milestone of 20%. .
The Trump campaign did not wait for that threshold to be exceeded on Wednesday, with a statement from a campaign spokesperson flatly stating that “overall prices have increased by 20%.”
Trump himself, as usual, further exaggerated the numbers, far exceeding recognition.in video response He told the Inflation Report that inflation “takes away 30 to 50 percent of every dollar you have,” without providing evidence.
President Biden himself responded to the latest report, making cost a top priority for the economy but acknowledging that “while progress has been made, there is still much work to be done.”
For comparison, prices rose just under 7.8% during President Donald Trump’s four years.
Economists often point out that the difference in inflation between the two eras is due to a variety of factors far beyond the occupant of the Oval Office.
For example, during the Trump administration, gasoline prices plummeted due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus infection at the end of the president’s term. Under the Biden administration, supply chain issues have pushed up prices elsewhere.
But in any case, we expect to hear more information from President Trump and his allies about the cumulative rate of inflation over the next six months.
Pangea Policy founder Terry Haines added during an appearance on Yahoo Finance Live on Wednesday that these price spikes and their associated “economic story here is pretty well priced in.”
“This is a huge blow to the president in many of the states he has to carry, and it’s a dynamic that casts a shadow over his campaign,” he added.
A higher measure of total inflation
Many Trump supporters see an even bigger increase during Biden’s term.
Make America Great Again, a super PAC supporting former President Trump, responded to the news Wednesday by announcing that overall prices have increased 19.9% since Biden took office.
The difference between the 19.4% and 19.9% numbers is based on how Republican groups use data that is not seasonally adjusted, making the difference slightly larger.
In Wednesday’s release, the group also listed a range of goods, from gasoline to eggs to airline tickets, that have increased in price over the past 40 months.
That 19.9% number was, perhaps predictably, repeated frequently by Republicans throughout Wednesday.
“#Bidenflation is a tax on all Americans.” Posted House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik;
“That’s bidenomics!” Added Republican National Committee account.
Today’s inflation report shows that real weekly wages are now down 4.4% and prices are up 19.9% since President Biden took office.
That’s bidenomics!
—GOP (@GOP) May 15, 2024
Key drivers for future campaigns
Biden’s challenge on inflation has been evident in recent months, with the president and his allies often struggling to hammer out a coherent message on the issue.
Another example came to light just this week in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance. During the conversation, Mr. Biden was strongly criticized for the worsening economic situation in the United States.
In response, he discussed prices, falsely claiming that the inflation rate was “9% when I joined the company, and is now down about 3%.” Biden previously made similar claims on CNN.
In fact, when he took office, the year-over-year inflation rate was 1.4%. Prices then rose after Biden took office, reaching 9.1%, but the peak came in June 2022, after Biden had been in office for more than a year.
The latest data, released Wednesday following Biden’s recent remarks, pegged the current year-over-year inflation rate at 3.4%, down slightly from 3.5% in March.
Biden also told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Brian Sozzi during a conversation on Tuesday that some of the anxiety in the country is “I think people are just anxious. That’s why we… We have to stay strong, stay on track and continue to create these great jobs.”
He said he was confident the administration could respond, but “it’s going to take some time.”
It remains to be seen whether voters will give Biden that time, but the comments come despite polls showing inflation being voters’ top economic concern. This shows the continuation of the trend of emphasizing employment.
This trend is also reflected in polls of Democratic supporters. A survey conducted last month by the Democratic advocacy group Blueprint 2024 found that 91% of respondents described inflation as a “serious problem.”
Of these respondents, 37% said inflation was one of their “most important issues.” Only 25% said the same about jobs and the economy.
Ben Werschkul is Yahoo Finance’s Washington correspondent.
Click here for business and money-related political news
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
