President Biden says America isn't experiencing 'record inflation anymore' amid 8.2% spike in prices
Biden said he's 'bringing down inflation' during the interview
Biden says the price of gas was 'over five dollars' when he took office, data shows it was $2.39
Biden says the price of gas was 'over five dollars' when he took office, data shows it was $2.39.
President Biden said on Thursday that America isn't experiencing "record inflation anymore" amid an annualized 8.2% spike in prices.
Biden made the comments during an interview with NewsNation on Thursday night.
"You've referred to the midterm election as a choice, rather than a referendum. Given record inflation, why should voters chose Democrats?," Biden was asked.
"Because it's not record inflation anymore. I'm bringing it down. Look what we inherited. I inherited 6.5% unemployment, it's down to 3.5%. We lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. We've created over 700,000 manufacturing jobs. Things are moving," Biden said. "As that [GDP] report showed, you have people who are now in a position where the combination of pay raises and job security, they're now better off, even with inflation than they were before it."
BIDEN SAYS THE PRICE OF GAS WAS 'OVER FIVE DOLLARS' WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE, DATA SHOWS IT WAS $2.39
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the economy after touring Volvo Group Powertrain on Oct. 7, 2022, in Hagerstown, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
When Biden took office in January 2021, the consumer price index, which measures prices of everyday items such as gasoline, groceries and rents, was climbing at a 1.4% annualized basis.
In September, prices climbed by 8.2% on an annual basis.
When compared to last year, core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose at by 6.6%, the fastest rate since 1982.
September's consumer price index figures also show an increase of 0.4% in everyday goods, including groceries, rent and gasoline when compared to the previous month.
BIDEN SAYS INFLATION 'WILL GO UP' IF REPUBLICANS TAKE CONTROL OF CONGRESS
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press prior to his Marine One departure from the White House on Oct. 27, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
During a speech on Thursday, Biden also claimed that the price of gasoline was "over five dollars" when he took office, despite the actual average price of regular gasoline being $2.39.
"The most common price of gas in America is $3.39, down from over five dollars when I took office," Biden said. "We need to keep making that progress by having energy companies bring down the cost of a gallon of gas that reflects the cost of paying for a barrel of oil."
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the week ending Jan. 25, 2021, after Biden took office, was $2.39, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
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U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, 2021 at U.N. headquarters in New York City. (Timothy A. Clary-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline didn't hit $5 until June 2022, well over a year after Biden took office.
FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.