Overview
- During a Meet The Press interview on Sunday, Sen. Tim Scott repeatedly blamed Joe Biden for rising costs while Kristen Welker interrupted to note that President Trump has been in office for two years.
- Scott asserted specific numbers, saying inflation rose 21% under Biden, fell under Trump to below 5%, and that the Inflation Reduction Act and other policies cost households more.
- Welker disputed Scott’s figures on air, saying inflation was about 3% when Biden left office and is roughly 3.4% now, and she cited estimates of higher household costs from tariffs.
- NBC’s clip of the exchange was widely circulated by outlets such as Mediaite, turning the spat into a focal point for debates over media fact-checking and partisan claims about the economy.
- The confrontation highlights how timing, choice of data, and competing cost estimates shape public arguments about responsibility for prices and could intensify scrutiny of both political claims and broadcast fact-checking.