2026-10-25 · contested story

Inflation under Trump is only about half the rate under Biden. Voters are still just as mad.

The core story is a striking asymmetry in American political economy: inflation during Trump's second term has run roughly half the cumulative rate experienced under Biden (prices rose more than 20% during Biden's term versus 5.4% so far under Trump, per Yahoo Finance), yet voters are registering nearly identical fury. Trump carries a 72% disapproval rating on inflation, matching or exceeding the levels recorded for Biden and Jimmy Carter. The articles trace this to a mix of tariff-driven price spikes (coffee, toys, footwear), an Iran war that spiked gas and oil prices, surging electricity and AI-data-center-driven costs, and a deeper psychological phenomenon: cumulative cost-of-living fatigue and negativity bias that no single president's rate statistics can dissolve.

How each side frames it

left
"First, according to economists, the Biden administration's policies worsened inflation. This was not inevitable — policymakers ignored critics' warnings at the time that their policies would likely have this effect."
"President Donald Trump spent much of the past year engineering price increases, financial panics, and trade wars."
"Donald Trump's approval rating on the economy has hit some horrendous—and historic—new lows... 'This is no April Fools' joke, this is a disaster. All these numbers are a disaster for President Trump.'"
"It might be excusable that Hassett is choosing to see the situation through rose-colored glasses if Trump hadn't been lying about the economy nonstop, from saying that grocery prices are down (they're not), to saying that inflation is at only 2 percent (it's not)"
"I actually have panic attacks. I've had a couple this past week, and I get very emotional over it. I don't want to work anymore, but I can't afford to retire"
center
"Trump sometimes sounds like Biden on inflation, insisting prices will soon drop while voters grow frustrated over his unfulfilled promises to lower living costs."
"The economy is neither as strong as Trump has claimed nor as weak as consumer sentiment surveys suggest."
"price growth is notably slower, rising 5.4% in a little less than two years since Inauguration Day"
"In both instances, the president caused a nontrivial share of the inflation... I think President Biden didn't take this concern seriously enough in his first few months in office and President Trump isn't taking this concern seriously enough right now."
"Inflation has not returned to peaks seen during President Joe Biden's term. But the data tells a clear story of inflation on a downward trend that moved jaggedly upward under Trump."
right
"President Donald Trump oversaw the implementation of COVID-19 lockdowns. President Joe Biden presided over the worst period of inflation in more than four decades. Those are the facts."
"The real irony here is that much of Trump's successful bid for the presidency last year was built upon general dissatisfaction with how the Biden administration had triggered and then struggled to control inflation... it's a lesson that the Trump administration apparently has not learned."
"Elections are decided by how people feel, and lots of Americans still feel pretty grumpy about how much it costs to go to the grocery store these days. It's really that simple."
"public attitudes on inflation and the state of the economy are heavily influenced by ignorance. While there really was a big increase in inflation in 2021-22, the current state of the economy is much better than most voters believe"
"The consumer price index rose 3.7% in September compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.4% in August... A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 17% of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the cost of living issue."

What each side left out

The left left out — covered by the Yahoo Finance & Reason
The left left out — covered by the Reason
The center left out — covered by the Vox & The New Republic
The center left out — covered by the Vox & Reason
The right left out — covered by the The New Republic
The right left out — covered by the Los Angeles Times & Click 2 Houston KPRC

What's actually true?

[verified] Prices rose more than 20% during Biden's term, while under Trump prices have risen 5.4% in a little less than two years.
[verified] Trump has a 72% disapproval rating on inflation, on par with Biden and Jimmy Carter.
[verified] Inflation peaked at an annualized rate of about 9.1% in June 2022, the highest in roughly 40 years.
[contested] The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan overshot the CBO's estimated output gap of about $600 billion, adding an estimated 1-3 percentage points to 2021 inflation.
[verified] Inflation was 3% in January 2025 when Trump took office, then accelerated after his April 2025 tariffs and the Iran war to 3.7% by September 2026.
[verified] Job growth has slowed sharply under Trump's second term — roughly 39,000 jobs/month versus over 121,000/month in the year before he took office.
[verified] The Iran war drove gas prices above $4 a gallon, with gasoline jumping 9.1% from August to September 2026.
[verified] Trump said 'I love the inflation' after BLS data showed prices rising at the fastest rate in three years, and declined to walk it back.

The narrative clash

Whether inflation under Trump is relatively low or alarmingly high
Left: Inflation is surging under President Trump, reaching its highest level in three years thanks to the Iran war, and more Americans than ever don't trust him on the economy.
Right: Consumer price index data for January came in a bit cooler than expected, with core inflation falling to its lowest level since early 2021. Trump tariffs showed little impact on goods prices
Whether Trump's tariffs are meaningfully fueling inflation
Left: Trump's tariffs are getting passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices... Prices for appliances jumped the most in nearly five years, toys increased at the fastest pace since early 2021
Right: The Federal Reserve is a lock to cut its key interest rate at next week's policy meeting and likely keep on cutting, thanks to easing services inflation and only a moderate bite from Trump tariffs.
Whether blame for post-pandemic inflation is primarily Biden's
Left: it's also clear that Biden's policies were not the primary cause of that inflation. It was a global phenomenon in the post-pandemic return to normal, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Right: a study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve found that 'domestic stimulus' played a 'sizable role' in driving inflation to 40-year highs.

27 sources analyzed

Vox Los Angeles Times Yahoo Finance Reason Vox Los Angeles Times Click 2 Houston KPRC Reason The New Republic Los Angeles Times CNBC Reason The New Republic Los Angeles Times Reason Vox Boston Herald Vox Boston Herald The New Republic Investor's Business Daily The New Republic Boston Herald Boston Herald Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily Investor's Business Daily

Perspectivity reads the coverage — not just who published it.

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