Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
No.
Cumulative inflation since former President Donald Trump left office in January 2021 through May 2024 was 20.1%, according to data from the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or CPI-U.
Trump told a crowd on June 18 in Racine, Wisconsin, that “real inflation” is more than twice that.
Americans have experienced significant price increases since President Joe Biden took office, but they aren’t close to the 40-50% inflation that Trump suggested. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic have been the main causes of inflation during Biden’s presidency.
Inflation is measured by a price index to examine the change in prices of many goods and services. The CPI-U is one of the most common ways to measure inflation. This system is based on spending patterns of urban consumers and measures the monthly change in prices paid for a theoretical market basket of goods and services.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis): Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average (CPIAUCNS)
CNBC: Trump attacks Biden for ‘through the roof’ prices—here’s how much they’ve actually risen since 2021
CNBC: Why is inflation so high? An economist explains why everyday essentials cost more
CNBC: Why is inflation so high? An economist explains why everyday essentials cost more
National Bureau of Economic Research: Unpacking the Causes of Pandemic-Era Inflation in the US
Federal Reserve System: What is inflation and how does the Federal Reserve evaluate changes in the rate of inflation?
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
