Biden takes victory lap on 3% inflation reading, but others offer a reality check

 President Joe Biden took a victory lap on Wednesday in response to the Consumer Price Index report indicating that the all items index increased 3% over a one-year period, the smallest rise in more than two years.

"The all items index increased 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending June; this was the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending March 2021," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. 

Biden seized upon the data, branding it as "Bidenomics in action."

"Today, we learned annual inflation has fallen 12 straight months to 3% – the lowest in over two years. I ran for office to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down: that’s exactly what we're doing. Bidenomics in action," a tweet on the @POTUS Twitter account declared.

But Americans have been being walloped by inflation for quite some time, and while the left hailed the CPI data, others offered a reality check. 

Craig DeLuz, a Republican running for U.S. Congress in California, noted that the economic data is not worth cheering. He tweeted that "3% inflation year-on-year is NOT something to be celebrated. That doesn't mean prices are decreasing. That just mean things are less bad right now than they were last year. The prices are STILL rising!" 

"The Biden administration is bragging about bringing down the inflation they created. Since Biden took office, inflation skyrocketed, and is currently double what it was in January 2021. And real wages are down 3%. #Bidenomics at work, folks," GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweeted.

"If Joe Biden thinks that his economic policies are actually helping American families live the American dream, he's more delusional than we feared," Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said in a statement. "We've got to get this skyrocketing inflation and reckless spending under control and stop expecting our kids and grandkids to pay the bill."

"Rate of growth of inflation going down after record highs is not equal to the cost of living going down," Blaze Media's Daniel Horowitz noted in a tweet.