Trump-Harris debate updates: Candidates go on attack in zinger-filled showdown

Fact Check: False, but it was very high

It’s true that early in Biden’s presidency, the annual inflation rate peaked at roughly 9% (June of 2022), but that’s not the highest it’s ever been. There are several examples of the inflation rate being much higher than 9% in the U.S, including in the immediate aftermath of WWII and during the oil embargo and shortages of the late 70’s and early 1980s. But, there are several examples of the inflation rate being much higher than 9% in the U.S., including in the immediate aftermath of World War II and during the oil embargo of the late 70’s and early 1980s when the inflation rate peaked at 14.5%. The inflation rate as of July 2024 is at 2.9% annual inflation, the lowest it has been in 3 years. It should also be noted that President Biden has falsely claimed that he inherited a high rate from his predecessor. In fact, inflation was at 1.4 percent when he took office.

*Data for this fact check was gathered from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, or St. Louis Fed

Fact Check: Mostly True.

Harris correctly describes what the Nobel laureates said about inflation during a Trump presidency: “There is rightly a worry that Donald Trump will reignite this inflation.” But while the group describes Harris’ agenda as “vastly superior” to Trump’s, their letter doesn’t specifically predict a recession by the middle of 2025. Rather, the group wrote: “We believe that a second Trump term would have a negative impact on the U.S.’s economic standing in the world and a destabilizing effect on the U.S.’s domestic economy.”

The 16 economists are George Akerlof, Angus Deaton, Claudia Goldin, Oliver Hart, Eric S. Maskin, Daniel L. McFadden, Paul R. Milgrom, Roger B. Myerson, Edmund S. Phelps, Paul M. Romer, Alvin E. Roth, William F. Sharp, Robert J. Shiller, Christopher A. Sims, Joseph Stiglitz and Robert B. Wilson.

— PolitiFact's Louis Jacobson

Trump complained that people haven't given him enough credit for the "great job" his administration did in response to the pandemic.

"We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic," he said, touching on providing ventilators and other supplies.

Harris is clearly trying to get under Trump's skin, albeit subtly.

She is mentioning Project 2025, whose popularity his campaign is frustrated by, and mentioned criticism of his economic plan by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania -- Trump's alma mater, which he frequently cites as evidence of his business bona fides.

And most significantly, Harris panned his record as a "mess."

"Let's talk about what Donald Trump left us. Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the great depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess," she said.