President Biden Claims Inflation Rising ‘Just an Inch’

PELLEY: “Mr. President, as you know, last Tuesday the annual inflation rate came in at 8.3%. The stock market nosedived. People are shocked by their grocery bills. What can you do better and faster?”

Biden: “Well, first of all, let’s put this in perspective. Inflation rate month to month was just— just an inch, hardly at all.”

PELLEY: “You’re not arguing that 8.3% is good news?”

Biden: “No, I’m not saying it is good news. But it was 8.2% or— 8.2% before. I mean, it’s not— you’re ac— we act— make it sound like all of a sudden, ‘My god, it went to 8.2%.’ It’s been—”

PELLEY: “It’s the highest inflation rate, Mr. President, in 40 years.”

Biden: “I got that. But guess what we are. We’re in a position where, for the last several months, it hasn’t spiked. It has just barely— it’s been basically even. And in the meantime, we created all these jobs and— and prices— have— have gone up, but they’ve come down for energy. The fact is that we’ve created 10 million new jobs. We’re in— since we came to office. We’re in a situation where the— the unemployment rate is about 3.7%. one of the lowest in history. We’re in a situation where manufacturing is coming back to the United States in a big way. And look down the road, we have mas— massive investments being made in computer chips and— and employment. So, I— look, this is a process. This is a process.”

PELLEY: “Is the economy going to get worse before it gets better?”

Biden: “No. I don’t think so. We hope we can have what they say, ‘a soft landing,’ a transition to a place where we don’t lose the gains that I ran to make in the first place for middle-class folks, being able to generate good-paying jobs and— expansion. And at the same time— make sure that we— we are— are able to continue to grow.”

PELLEY: “And you would tell the American people that inflation is going to continue to decline?”

Biden: “No, I’m telling the American people that we’re gonna get control of inflation. And their prescription drug prices are gonna be a hell of a lotta lower. Their health care costs are gonna be a lot lower. Their basic costs for everybody, their energy prices are gonna be lower. They’re gonna be in a situation where they begin to gain control again. I’m— more optimistic than I’ve been in a long time.”