![CNN political commentator Scott Jennings said Thursday that former President Donald Trump can beat President Joe Biden on the issue of inflation. [Screenshot CNN]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-at-10.03.42-AM-e1695909991601.png "CNN political commentator Scott Jennings said Thursday that former President Donald Trump can beat President Joe Biden on the issue of inflation. [Screenshot CNN]")
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings said Thursday that former President Donald Trump can beat President Joe Biden on the issue of inflation.
“Very Serious” newsletter writer Josh Barro said Trump and Biden’s current campaigns are about inflation specifically rather than the economy on the whole.
“Unemployment is low right now, that is not doing a lot for the president’s approval on the economy, and it’s because real wages were falling, that’s improved somewhat,” Barro said. “[People] feel like they’re working and they’re not getting as much value as they used to.”
“Joe Biden did do certain things that did cause part of inflation,” Barro said, arguing Biden’s opponents can point to the president’s handling of inflation to win.
Jennings then joined in, talking about the increase in costs for goods such as cars, with host Poppy Harlow exclaiming, “It takes 42 weeks of full earnings in America right now to buy a car for Americans. 42 weeks!” (RELATED: Did Bidenomics Kill The American Dream? Homes And Cars Are Becoming Increasingly Unaffordable For The Middle Class)
“Yeah and this debate — the way we set these people up and pit them against each other — is not designed to deal with any of that, which is a travesty,” Jennings said. “The two people who were talking the economy this week are Biden and Trump, and Trump’s obviously already pivoted out of this and thinks this is an academic side show, but it is what people want to hear. It’s the single thing that might reelect Donald Trump, it’s this ‘Biden has no answer on inflation.’ You can’t show people charts and graphs when they don’t feel they can afford just a basic vehicle. A chart or a graph ain’t going to fix that gut instinct of anxiety that you have about ‘am I going to be able to afford to live?'”
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a broad measure of the cost of daily goods, rose 3.7% on an annual basis in August compared to 3.2% in July, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. Core CPI, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 4.3% year-over-year in August compared to 4.7% in July.
A Wall Street Journal poll from Sept. 11 found nearly 60% of voters believe the economy has declined under Biden, and 63% of those polled said they are not a fan of how Biden has handled inflation.