Joe Biden seems to be haunting the Trump White House.
After the latest inflation numbers showed an unnerving rise in prices, President Donald Trump posted on social media, “Biden inflation up!”
Biden left office on January 20, and the latest inflation report was for January. So, in a way, it was the final inflation reading of the Biden administration. Trump deserves a grace period.
On the other hand, Trump did say while campaigning last year, “when I win, I will immediately bring prices down. Starting on day one.” He hasn’t. So Democrats are in his grille, bashing Trump about eggsploding egg prices caused by avian flu and scores of eggsecutive orders Trump has signed having nothing to do with lowering inflation.
It’s silly to argue over who’s responsible for inflation one month after a new president takes office. Trump didn’t cause bird flu any more than Biden did, and any president has far less control over prices than voters like to think.
But Bidenflation vs. Trumpflation is a preview of a more serious problem Trump could face in coming months.
Inflation is getting worse, not better, and Trump can’t blame Biden forever. If the trend continues, voters will start blaming Trump for inflation, and one lesson of Biden’s presidency is that voters vexed by rising prices can be unforgiving.
The inflation rate dropped from a high of 9% in 2022 to 2.4% last September. It looked like the problem was nearly solved, and the Federal Reserve started cutting short-term interest rates as a sign it expected inflation to settle back near its target of 2% or so.
But since then, inflation has ticked back up, and it’s now up to 3%. Prices in a grab bag of categories, including insurance, used cars, airfares, and rent, remain sticky-high. Ten-dollar eggs are the new $5 gasoline, a shocking price for a staple that reminds shoppers of inflation with every trip to the store.
Worse for Trump, consumers expect his economic policies to make inflation worse, not better. As he promised, Trump has made tariffs on imports the centerpiece of his economic agenda, with new customs duties on some imports already imposed and more on the way. Surveys clearly show that Americans expect Trump’s tariffs to raise prices. In the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, respondents said they expect inflation in one year to be 4.3%, with the outlook getting progressively worse during the past couple of months.
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Something has to give. If inflation is a problem six months from now, hardly anybody is going to think it’s Biden’s fault. Trump will have to either back away from many of his tariff threats or simply tell voters they’re stuck with higher prices.
