CNN Found Way To Frame Trump’s Tamer Inflation Report More Negatively Than Biden’s Sky-High Numbers

CNN framed 6% inflation under former President Joe Biden more positively than 2.7% inflation under President Donald Trump in separate X posts.

“US inflation is still high, but it’s falling,” CNN wrote in a March 14, 2023, X post about the 6% inflation at the time. On Tuesday, CNN wrote that “US inflation remained at 2.7% in December, underscoring persistent cost of living challenges.”

The Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips highlighted the difference in framing in a viral X post on Tuesday, leading to numerous accusations of bias against CNN.

For instance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted “CNN Fake News” on X on Wednesday in response to Phillips’ post. Senior Adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media Kari Lake also responded to Phillips’ post on X on Wednesday, saying it exemplified “[h]ow the fake news works.”

Both CNN posts linked to corresponding articles written by CNN Business senior writer Alicia Wallace. The Biden-era article was headlined, “Inflation fell for the eighth-straight month in February,” while the Trump-era article said, “Inflation remained at 2.7% in December, as high prices continue to weigh on many Americans.”

Although 58% of Democrats trusted CNN, the same percentage of Republicans distrusted the outlet, according to a March 2025 Pew Research Center survey.

Moreover, CNN host Abby Phillip admitted on “The Breakfast Club” on Oct. 28 that CNN leaned left.

“I would say it’s fair to say that CNN — we’re not Fox News, but we’re also not MSNBC,” Phillip said. “We’re probably center-left. And I think that has a lot to do with our audience.”

Furthermore, Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff told “CNN News Central” co-host Kate Bolduan on Dec. 18 that 2.7% inflation in November was “positive news” for the economy.

“I was surprised. It was a better number than anyone was expecting,” Rogoff told Bolduan. “Look, inflation’s been very high, it’s stayed high and it’s not been coming down.”

“You know, people have been expecting it to be above 3%, it was well below 3%,” he added. “I mean, I think the president will take this as good news. The investors will think that interest rates will get cut more, so it was positive news — there’s no other way to spin it.”

Inflation in the U.S. also reached 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, the highest in 40 years.

CNN did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.