TCT-ECO-001 · Inflation
“Worst inflation in our nation’s history”
Statement and context
“We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before. Probably the worst in our nation’s history. We were at 21%.”
September 10, 2024, presidential debate, Philadelphia.
What the evidence shows
The broad CPI’s largest 12-month increase during the Biden administration was 9.1% in June 2022, not 21%. BLS’s historical CPI series shows substantially higher inflation in earlier periods, including 1917–1920; annual inflation also exceeded the 2022 peak in the 1970s and early 1980s. Individual categories rose more than 21% over multiyear windows, but that is not the economy-wide inflation rate.
False. The quoted national inflation rate and historical superlative are contradicted by BLS data.
Sources and attribution
Tracker research synthesis; inspect the linked evidence and research record.