SPECIAL REPORT: A Tale of Two Inflation Rates and the Media Spinmasters Who Cover Them

NewsBusters ^ | 8/18/2026 | Joseph Vazquez

[JV3MRC]

If you were paying attention, you would notice a glaring case of two logically incoherent media narratives at play. Specifically, skyrocketing inflation under Biden during a midterm election year was considered a “transitory” blip, but a more tempered inflation rate under Trump during another midterm election year, despite a major war, was cast as setting the economy on the precipice of a complete disaster.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the five-month average annual rate of consumer price increases spanning the Iran War (March-July) averaged 3.6 percent. During the same period in 2022 under Joe Biden, with no war underway, the inflation rate averaged a whopping 8.6 percent.

There’s no question the juxtaposition between the two rates is stark, and so was the way the media chose to cover the economy during the two periods.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: clickbait; donaldtrump; getajob; iranwar; joebiden; mediabias; selfpromotion

[kaintucky]

Thanks for the article.

But, the media biased against president Trump? Let me find my surprised face.

[Tell It Right]

Thanks for posting!

[Zathras]

Inflation was 15% under Jimmy Carter and the MSM told us Reagan was going to start WWIII.

[libertylover]

Remember my Tagline.

[C210N]

For the record, when the FED targets 2% inflation, they are really saying that they want to steal from us 2% of our wealth per year.

If inflation exceeds 2%, that’s just a bonus on top.

[TexasFreeper2009]

or another way of looking at it is every appreciating asset you already own (like homes) increases at 2%

[wny]

See John Williams at shadowstats.com for the true inflation numbers

[C210N]

The FED itself publishes in plain sight true inflation numbers.

[C210N]

[wny]

Williams calculates inflation rate using the same method the gov used (FED is not the government, it’s a banking cartel that owns the government) before they started monkeying with it in the late 1980s. They did this - more than once - to hide higher inflation.