Joe Biden and Donald Trump 2024.
Kevin Lamarque | Jay Paul | Reuters
Donald Trump pounced on President Joe Biden on Wednesday after the consumer price index came in higher than expected in March, delivering another data point that could suggest inflation is rising again and boost hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut soon could be dampened in the future.
“Inflation is back – and it’s HUGE!” the former president wrote in a Truth Social post. “The Fed will never be able to credibly lower interest rates because they want to protect the worst president in the history of the United States!”
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in March, slightly above economists’ expectations of 0.3%. This monthly rate increased the year-over-year increase to 3.5%, above the expectation of 3.4%.
The index has risen higher than expected almost every month since November, potentially an unwelcome trend for Biden as the economy becomes the focus of the 2024 election.
“I urge businesses, including grocery retailers, to use record profits to drive down prices,” Biden said in a statement following the CPI report.
“Republicans in Congress want to cut taxes on billionaires and big corporations while helping special interests and drug companies raise prices. I won’t let that happen,” he added.
Biden has repeatedly blamed big corporations and Republicans for the persistently high cost of living that consumers report is still being felt, while at the same time touting the economic benefits of his own policies.
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Measured by metrics such as gross domestic product and unemployment, the US economy is currently doing well, especially compared to other large industrialized nations such as Canada, Japan and Germany.
However, stubborn inflation and a large budget deficit are still a thorn in the side of the White House and Biden’s campaign, and Trump has seized the opportunity to exacerbate it.
“We are a nation whose economy is plunging into a cesspool of ruin,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia last week.
Consumer confidence is showing early signs of optimism, even as voter polls have shown Americans have a rosy memory of the economy under Trump.
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2024-04-10 16:45:04
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