Biden Slammed for Claiming US Economy Had 0% Inflation in July — One Lawmaker Calls It 'Sad and Dangerous'

President Joe Biden stated Wednesday that the U.S. economy had zero percent inflation in July following the latest CPI report. “Biden is claiming that we saw zero percent inflation last month. But there’s a zero percent chance that’s the case. Inflation in July was 8.5%, which is still a 40-year high,” said a lawmaker.

Biden’s Zero Inflation Comment and Responses

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden publicly stated that the U.S. economy had 0% inflation in July after the latest consumer price index (CPI) report was released.

“Before I begin today, I want to say a word about the news that came out today relative to the economy,” Biden began. “Actually, I just want to say a number: zero.” The president added:

Today, we received news that our economy had zero percent inflation in the month of July. Zero percent.

The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, similarly stated on Twitter: “We just received news that our economy had 0% inflation in July. While the price of some things went up, the price of others, like gas, clothing, and more, dropped.”

Comments flooded social media platforms following Biden’s zero percent inflation claim. Some gently explained to him that inflation is not 0% while others flat-out insulted the U.S. president.

Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) tweeted:

Biden is claiming that we saw zero percent inflation last month. But there’s a zero percent chance that’s the case. Inflation in July was 8.5%, which is STILL a 40-year high.

American author Jeffrey Tucker called Biden’s zero percent inflation claim “a bogus math trick,” noting: “This is the overall one-month index change. Overall that means that the big drop in fuel oil and gas (following previous massive monthly increases) swamped the huge increases everywhere else.” He added: “Using the same tactic, you could also observe a one-month 19.2% increase in electricity! But, of course, we would not do that because that’s dumb. The actual increase is 15.2% which we get from calculating year over year.”

Rudy Havenstein opined: “For the president and others to publicly claim — with a straight face — that there was ‘zero inflation’ last month is gaslighting at an extreme level, and insulting, and thoughtless, and I do not think it will go over well with non-ideologues.”

Tricia Flanagan wrote: “It’s actually 8.5% inflation in July NOT ‘ZERO,’ Joe. This misunderstanding of basic economics is sad, misleading & dangerous.”

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) commented:

What world is President Biden living in? Americans continue to suffer under Biden inflation. Clearly, he hasn’t bought any food or filled up a gas tank … How out of touch can you be? Sad and dangerous.

California House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted: “President Biden just said ‘our economy had zero percent inflation in the month of July.'” Noting that gas price is up 44%, airfare 27%, and groceries 13%, he stressed: “While you continue to pay for his failures, Biden owes the American people the truth about inflation.”

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) mocked the zero percent inflation tweet by the White House press secretary, stating:

We’re more than 4X the normal rate of inflation, and the White House spin is, ‘Look everybody! Zero percent last month!’ Such B.S.

Fox Business anchor David Asman said: “Lies, damn lies and statistics. Inflation is UP 8.5% year over year. Today’s number is all gas, the demand for which has come down to levels not seen since 2020 lockdowns … food is still up 10.9% year over year. Folks can cut road trips, not food.”

Some people pointed out that if Biden believes that there is zero percent inflation, then there is no need for the Inflation Reduction Act and the $80 billion fund to allow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hire new agents.

Referencing the U.S. government’s efforts to redefine the technical definition of the word “recession,” Townhall.com managing editor Spencer Brown wrote:

The White House already tried to redefine ‘recession’ and now they expect Americans to believe that the 8.5% annual CPI number reported for July is ‘zero inflation.’ Unreal.

He described: “The Biden administration’s celebration comes at the ignorance and expense of Americans who are living paycheck-to-paycheck, but the White House clearly doesn’t know or care about what the American people are dealing with.”