The recurring claim that it's the last president's fault

Rerun #14

Oct 2026 Blaming Biden again after a hot inflation report: "636 days"

On Oct. 14, 2026, about 21 months into his second term and hours after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier, Trump told a campaign rally for Rep. Andy Biggs in Bullhead City, Arizona, that when asked about affordability he answers, "Yeah, that was caused by Biden, who gave us the highest inflation in history" (Washington Sun). Newsweek reported that he told reporters after the rally that his administration had inherited high inflation from Biden, and that earlier that week National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News voters' frustrations should be directed at "the runaway inflation that Joe Biden gave us." On Oct. 18, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "Why don't we revisit the Biden-era policies where the American people got smoked?" Host Kristen Welker replied that Trump "has been in office now for 636 days," and that "inflation was at 3% when he took office. It's 3.7% now." Bessent answered, "Well, we will own the economy" (Mediaite). What the record shows: per Newsweek, the September CPI rise accelerated from 3.4% in August and was the highest 12-month rate since September 2023 outside of April and May; the Washington Sun reported that gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September and accounted for more than half of the month's increase. FactCheck.org had earlier put inflation at 3% for the 12 months ending January 2025.

• washingtonsun.com article

  I said, 'Yeah, that was caused by Biden, who gave us the highest inflation in history.'

• Yahoo News article

  I hear you blaming President Biden, but President Trump has been in office now for 636 days.

• Newsweek (pre–2013) article

  the runaway inflation that Joe Biden gave us.

Sources: washingtonsun.com needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · mediaite.com needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · factcheck.org reliable

Rerun #13

Sep 2026 Trump: price increases "were caused by Sleepy Joe Biden"

On September 14, 2026, more than a year and a half into his second term, Trump said on Truth Social that US price increases "were caused by Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, not by 'TRUMP.'" What the record shows: Newsweek reported that consumer prices rose 3.4% in August from a year earlier and that crude oil had climbed above $100 a barrel. Newsweek said Trump did inherit an overall price level that was already high compared with before the pandemic, but that this does not mean every price today can be blamed on Biden, "particularly more than a year-and-a-half after Trump returned to office." It also noted that Trump ordered US strikes on Iran with Israel in February, setting off the conflict that disrupted energy supplies.

• trumpstruth.org social post

  I hope everyone realizes that price increases throughout America were caused by Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, not by "TRUMP."

• Newsweek (pre–2013) article

  Donald Trump is once again blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for Americans' higher prices.

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · mediaite.com needs a second source · trumpstruth.org needs a second source · oann.com needs a second source

Rerun #12

May 2026 Bessent: Spirit Airlines collapse is "more of the mess we inherited from the Biden administration"

On May 3, 2026, about 15 months into Trump's second term, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" of Spirit Airlines' shutdown: "So, this is just more of the mess we inherited from the Biden administration." He blamed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration for opposing JetBlue's $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit. Mediaite noted a resurfaced February 2025 clip in which Bessent said Trump would own the economy by 2026, and said "Fourteen months have passed since that comment." What the record shows: Biden's Justice Department sued to block the merger, and a federal judge in Boston blocked it in January 2024 (CNBC). Spirit blamed a sharp rise in oil prices tied to the Iran war (Straight Arrow News, NPR) and said there was "no additional funding available to the company" (Straight Arrow News) after talks on a $500 million federal bailout failed (NPR). NPR reported that Spirit's problems "ran deeper than that," including competition from larger airlines and two bankruptcy filings since 2024.

• mediaite.com article

  So, this is just more of the mess we inherited from the Biden administration,

• x.com social post

  Had Spirit Airlines been allowed to merge with Jet Blue, it would have given them much more resiliency.

• The Daily Beast article

  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed a letter written by Sen. Elizabeth Warren almost four years ago for the abrupt closure of Spirit Airlines.

Sources: mediaite.com needs a second source · The Daily Wire needs a second source · NPR reliable · cnbc.com reliable · san.com needs a second source

Rerun #11

Dec 2025 Trump: "Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess"

Nearly 11 months into his second term, Trump blamed his predecessor for current conditions in three settings within ten days. On Dec. 8, 2025, he opened a White House roundtable on a $12 billion aid package for farmers by saying, "We inherited a total mess from the Biden administration" (CNN). A CNN analysis noted that the aid followed Trump's own tariff dispute with China, and cited a November Fox News poll in which 62% of Americans blamed Trump for current economic conditions and 32% blamed Biden. At a Dec. 9 rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Trump said, "We inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country." On Dec. 17 he opened a roughly 20-minute prime-time address from the White House with "Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I am fixing it." NPR said the address restated the White House message "that current economic problems can still be blamed on former President Joe Biden." What the record shows: FactCheck.org said Trump's Dec. 9 inflation claims were "still false." It said the worst inflation in American history came after World War I (23.7% from June 1919 to June 1920), that inflation reached 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, and that it was 3% for the 12 months ending January 2025, when Trump took office, and 3% for the 12 months ending September 2025. CNN's takeaways from the address said Biden's economic and inflation numbers were worse than Trump's, "in large part due to the Covid-19 pandemic which caused economic turmoil and inflation to spike around the world."

• CNN article

  "We inherited a total mess from the Biden administration," Trump said Monday, opening a forum on his $12 billion bailout for farmers.

• factcheck.org article

  inherited the highest prices ever and we're bringing them down. We inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country.

• NPR article

  "Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I am fixing it," he said at the start of his speech.

Sources: CNN reliable · factcheck.org reliable · CNN reliable · NPR reliable · ABC News reliable

Rerun #10

Apr 2025 – May 2025 Trump: "This is Biden's Stock Market, not Trump's"

On April 30, 2025, just past the 100-day mark of his second term, Trump blamed his predecessor for a stock-market slide and a GDP contraction. On Truth Social he wrote: "This is Biden's Stock Market, not Trump's. I didn't take over until January 20th." He added that "we have to get rid of the Biden 'Overhang.' This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers." At a Cabinet meeting that day he said, "And you could even say the next quarter is sort of Biden because it doesn't just happen on a daily or an hourly basis" (CNBC). Asked why he was blaming Biden after earlier taking credit for the market, he said, "I'm not taking credit or discredit for the stock market. I'm just saying we inherited a mess" (NBC News). What the record shows: the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 0.3 percent in the first quarter, "primarily reflecting an increase in imports" and a decrease in government spending. CNBC said the import wave came as companies tried to get ahead of Trump's promised tariffs, and that the drop in government spending was driven largely by a cut in defense; it called Trump's claim that the results were due to Biden's policies inaccurate. BEA reported that real final sales to private domestic purchasers rose 3.0 percent, compared with 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Axios, which pushed back on the claim in its coverage, reported that the S&P 500 was down 3.8% since just before the election, 6% for the year to date and nearly 10% since Inauguration Day.

• Axios article

  This is Biden's Stock Market, not Trump's. I didn't take over until January 20th.

• cnbc.com article

  And you could even say the next quarter is sort of Biden because it doesn't just happen on a daily or an hourly basis.

• youtube.com video

  not taking credit or discredit for the stock market

Sources: Axios reliable · cnbc.com reliable · NBC News reliable · bea.gov needs a second source

Rerun #9

Jan 2025 Trump links D.C. midair collision to Obama- and Biden-era FAA diversity hiring

On Jan. 30, 2025, 10 days after his second inauguration and the day after an Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided near Washington's Reagan National Airport, Trump held his first press conference on the crash. PolitiFact said he blamed his predecessors' diversity hiring policies as a possible reason for the accident. He said: "I changed the Obama policy, and we had a very good policy. And then Biden came in and he changed it." What the record shows: PolitiFact rated that claim False. It found that Trump's first administration expanded, rather than ended, an Obama-era effort to hire people with disabilities, and that Trump ended an Obama-era hiring assessment in 2018 that Biden never brought back. PolitiFact added that Trump gave no evidence the policies had anything to do with the crash. At its final meeting on Jan. 27, 2026, the NTSB found that systemic failures in airspace design, safety oversight and risk management by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Army contributed to the collision.

• Newsweek (pre–2013) article

  I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary,

• PolitiFact article

  Trump conflated policies, obfuscated about his role in them and misled about what they did.

• c-span.org video Watch

  I changed the Obama policy, and we had a very good policy. And then Biden came in and he changed it.

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · PolitiFact reliable · ntsb.gov needs a second source · rollcall.com reliable · The Hill reliable

Rerun #8

May 2024 Biden: inflation "was 9% when I came to office"

On May 8, 2024, about three years and four months into his term (1,204 days after his January 20, 2021 inauguration), Biden told CNN that inflation "was 9% when I came to office, 9%." He said it again in a Yahoo Finance interview on May 14. That presents peak inflation as something he inherited. Asked about the remark, the White House said his point was that the causes of inflation, including the pandemic and supply-chain shortages, were already in place when he took office.

What the record shows: year-over-year inflation (CPI) was about 1.4% in January 2021. It rose to 9.1% in June 2022, about 17 months into his term.

• PolitiFact noted that supply-chain problems came before his term, but the American Rescue Plan (March 2021) and Russia's invasion of Ukraine (2022) did not.
• FactCheck.org noted that two of the three rounds of stimulus checks were signed into law by Trump in 2020.

PolitiFact rated the claim False, CNN called it false, and FactCheck.org said Biden "falsely said" he inherited 9% inflation.

• factcheck.org article

  But no president's had the run we've had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation. It was 9% when I came to office, 9%,

• Yahoo News article

  I think inflation has gone slightly up. It was at 9% when I came in, and it's now down around 3%.

• PolitiFact article

  Still, 9% was not something Biden inherited, as he phrased it in both interviews.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · Yahoo News reliable · factcheck.org reliable · inquirer.com needs a second source

Rerun #7

Aug 2021 Afghanistan: "I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated"

On Aug. 16, 2021, nearly seven months into his term and a day after Kabul fell to the Taliban, Biden said in the East Room: "When I came into office, I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban. Under his agreement, U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021." In the same speech he said, "I am President of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me." In his Aug. 31 address marking the end of the war, he said, "I take responsibility for the decision," and again pointed to "the previous administration's agreement," which he said left him a choice between leaving and sending in more troops. Fox News described the Aug. 31 address as pinning partial blame on Trump. What the record shows: per FactCheck.org, Biden and Trump were both eager to withdraw U.S. troops. The February 2020 deal set a date certain of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal, and the Trump administration cut troops to 2,500. On April 14, 2021, Biden announced that all troops would be removed by Sept. 11. FactCheck.org wrote that Biden delayed the May 1 withdrawal date he inherited, but that his administration pushed ahead with a plan to withdraw by Aug. 31 despite signs that the Taliban was not complying with the agreement.

• bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov statement

  When I came into office, I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban.

• cbsnews.com article

  inherited

• Fox News article

  The previous administration's agreement said that if we stuck to the May 1st deadline that they had signed on to leave by, the Taliban wouldn't attack any American forces

Sources: factcheck.org reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov needs a second source · bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov needs a second source · Fox News needs a second source

Rerun #6

Mar 2021 Biden blames the Trump administration for border capacity at his first press conference

At his first formal news conference on March 25, 2021, 64 days after his inauguration (FactCheck.org), Biden attributed the rise in migrants at the southern border partly to seasonal patterns and partly to his predecessor. CNBC summarized it as "annual seasonal migratory patterns and a system dismantled by the Trump administration," and quoted Biden: "We're building back the capacity that should have been maintained." The Dallas Morning News reported that Biden said his approach had been hampered because Trump dismantled much of the immigration system, reducing detention space and leaving shortages in personnel and facilities. It quoted him saying, "I make no apologies for ending programs that did not exist before Trump became president." NBC News said Biden "sought to cast blame on former President Donald Trump." What the record shows: FactCheck.org said Biden's claim that Trump "eliminated" more than $700 million in Central America aid "didn't happen," though the Trump administration did reallocate some of the money and temporarily suspended other funding in 2019. It also cited Customs and Border Protection data showing a 63% rise in apprehensions of unaccompanied children from January to February 2021, and cited immigration experts who said that rise "appears to be more than just a seasonal pattern."

• cnbc.com article

  We're building back the capacity that should have been maintained

• dallasnews.com article

  I make no apologies for ending programs that did not exist before Trump became president

• youtube.com video

Sources: cnbc.com reliable · dallasnews.com needs a second source · factcheck.org reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · NBC News reliable

Rerun #5

Jan 2021 Biden team says Trump's vaccine distribution plan was "nonexistent"

On Biden's first full day in office, news reports alleged that Donald Trump's administration had failed to set up a plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, according to Snopes. Unnamed sources told CNN that Biden's team inherited "no vaccine plan to speak of from the Trump administration." On Jan. 24, 2021, his fifth day in office, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the process for distributing vaccines in the wider community "did not really exist when we came into the White House." What the record shows: PolitiFact rated Klain's statement Mostly False, finding that the Trump plan did exist but left the logistics of distribution to the states. Snopes reported that Anthony Fauci said the new administration would incorporate parts of the existing plan. Trump allies and Republican lawmakers disputed the claim (Newsweek).

• CNN article

  "There is nothing for us to rework. We are going to have to build everything from scratch," one source said.

• NBC News article

  Klain doubled down on the Biden administration's criticism of its predecessors and said that a wider distribution plan "did not really exist when we came into the White House."

• youtube.com video

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · Snopes reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · NBC News reliable

Rerun #4

Mar 2020 Trump blames an Obama-era "decision" for slow COVID-19 testing

At a Mar. 4, 2020 White House meeting with airline executives, about three years and six weeks into his first term, President Trump said, "The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we're doing," and said his administration had "undid that decision a few days ago." Asked at a Mar. 5 Fox News town hall whether he blamed Obama, he said he did not, then said his administration inherited "some decisions which were not good decisions" (FactCheck.org). On Mar. 13 he tweeted that "President Obama made changes that only complicated things further," and when asked that day about the testing lag he said, "No, I don't take responsibility at all." What the record shows: PolitiFact rated the claim False. It reported that the emergency-authorization framework comes from the Project BioShield Act of 2004, signed by George W. Bush, and that the Obama FDA's 2014 draft guidance for lab-developed tests, dropped in November 2016, "never took effect." FactCheck.org said the draft was "never finalized," and ABC News said it "never became a regulation."

• ABC News article

  "The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we're doing," Trump said Wednesday.

• cnbc.com article

  No, I don't take responsibility at all. Because we were given a -- a set of circumstances, and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · factcheck.org reliable · ABC News reliable · cnbc.com reliable

Rerun #3

Feb 2018 Trump on Obama: "So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling?"

On Feb. 19, 2018, about 13 months into his first term, Trump tweeted: "Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling?" On Feb. 20 he tweeted, "I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts. Total Fake News!" (The Hill). The tweets came days after special counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities over interference in the 2016 election. VOA said "It's been a common complaint from Trump." What the record shows: Obama imposed sanctions, expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds (The Hill). NPR's fact-check said "One basic notion that is false is the idea the Obama administration took no action — it did," and that the open question is why it did not do more. NPR reported that Obama told Putin directly not to interfere, and that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson formally blamed the Russian government in an official statement. Joe Biden said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not join a bipartisan warning. Some Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff, have said the administration could have done more or acted sooner (The Hill, VOA).

• The Hill article

  Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling?

• The Hill article

  I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts. Total Fake News!

• NPR article

  One basic notion that is false is the idea the Obama administration took no action — it did.

Sources: The Hill reliable · The Hill reliable · NPR reliable · Voice of America reliable

Rerun #2

Apr 2017 Trump blames the Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack on Obama's "red line"

On April 4, 2017, about 11 weeks into his first term, a statement issued in Trump's name said the Assad government's chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun was "a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution." It added that Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a "red line" against chemical weapons "and then did nothing." Press Secretary Sean Spicer read the statement at that day's press gaggle, where a reporter asked him directly about blaming a predecessor ("every President always blames the predecessor… why take the potshot at his predecessor?"). Trump repeated the charge on April 5 at a press conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II. US missile strikes on a Syrian airbase followed on the evening of April 6. What the record shows: an AP fact check said that after the August 2013 Damascus-area attack, Obama signaled he would use military force, then asked Congress for authorization and could not win enough support. AP concluded it "wasn't 'nothing,'" but said the resulting deal did not remove Syria's chemical weapons threat. NBC and FactCheck.org noted that Trump had urged Obama at the time not to attack Syria; NBC dated those calls to 2013.

• trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement

  These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing.

• trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov broadcast

  I think it is very clear. I mean, we drew — what's the point of red lines? America's credibility was at stake, and I think the President wants to point out that there was a red line and they did cross it.

• NBC News article

  I think the Obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand.

Sources: NBC News reliable · NBC News reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · factcheck.org reliable

Rerun #1

Feb 2017 Trump: "I inherited a mess."

At a White House press conference on Feb. 16, 2017, less than a month into his first term (he spoke of "the last four weeks since my inauguration"), Trump said: "As you know, our administration inherited many problems across government and across the economy. To be honest, I inherited a mess — it's a mess — at home and abroad." He went on to cite jobs leaving the country, low wages, the Middle East and North Korea. PolitiFact said he used the phrase four times that day; CNN counted three. The White House sent PolitiFact a supporting document titled "Inheriting A Mess" that listed slow growth in GDP and wages. What the record shows: PolitiFact said Obama handed Trump an economy with a 4.7 percent unemployment rate and 75 consecutive months of job growth, and concluded that "Obama left the economy in much better shape than he inherited it." On foreign policy, PolitiFact said Trump "may have a point that the world is a 'mess' today," but that "it has almost always been thus." It gave no rating, calling "a mess" subjective. CNBC reported that the most recent jobs report showed 227,000 jobs added and unemployment at 4.8 percent, while GDP growth was "slow by historical standards." The Boston Globe's fact check said that "by almost every economic measure, President Barack Obama inherited a far worse situation," with unemployment peaking at 10 percent in Obama's first year.

• trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement

  To be honest, I inherited a mess — it's a mess — at home and abroad. A mess.

• PolitiFact article

  He used the phrase four times in his marathon press conference on Feb. 16

• money.cnn.com article

  "I inherited a mess," Trump said three times before listing his achievements

• c-span.org video Watch

  To be honest, I inherited a mess — it's a mess — at home and abroad. A mess.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · cnbc.com reliable · bostonglobe.com needs a second source · money.cnn.com needs a second source · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable