FACT FOCUS: Trump blends falsehoods and exaggerations at rambling NJ press conference

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday gave his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention.

At his New Jersey golf club, the Republican nominee blended falsehoods about the economy with misleading statements and deeply personal attacks about his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

Inflation did not take the toll Trump claimed. Growth surged under Biden

TRUMP: “As a result of Kamala’s inflation, price hikes have cost the typical household a total of $28,000.… When I left office, I left Kamala and crooked Joe Biden a surging economy and no inflation. The mortgage rate was around 2%. Gasoline had reached $1.87 a gallon.… Harris and Biden blew it all up.”

THE FACTS: Trump made numerous economic claims that were either exaggerated or misleading. Prices did surge during the Biden-Harris administration, though $28,000 is far higher than independent estimates. Moody’s Analytics calculated last year that price increases over the previous two years were costing the typical U.S. household $709 a month. That would equal $8,500 a year.

Separately, the U.S. economy was growing quickly as it reopened from COVID in 2020, as Trump’s term ended, and it continued to do so after Biden took office. Growth reached 5.8% in 2021, Biden’s first year in the White House, as the rebound continued, faster than any year that Trump was in office. Mortgage rates were low when Trump left because of the pandemic, which caused the Federal Reserve to cut its key rate to nearly zero. Gas prices fell as the economy largely shut down and Americans cut back sharply on their driving.