'Hard data': Brutal fact-checkers debunk Vance 'upside down' economic claims

14 March

During a mid-March interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Vice President JD Vance aggressively defended President Donald Trump's passion for tariffs. Trump, Vance claimed, inherited a major economic crisis from former President Joe Biden, and Trump's policies will turn the economy around.

But Vance's claims come at a time when Trump is getting the United States into an all-out trade war with Canada and other longtime allies and the stock market has investors worried. On March 11, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 427 points. And economist Paul Krugman views Trump's policies — from tariffs to mass deportations to extensive layoffs of federal government workers — as a recipe for a major recession.

Vance's claims on Fox News are getting a brutal and comprehensive fact-check.

On X, formerly Twitter, University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers posted, "Mr. Vice President @JDVance, I'm sure you don't mean to mislead anyone, but the hard data suggest that in fact you've inherited a stronger economy than any administration in your lifetime."

Vance told Ingraham, "There is, as the president has said, a recognition that we have to accept — which is that Joe Biden left this economy in a disaster."

But Wolfers posted a chart showing that in fact, Trump inherited a very low "misery index" from Biden — one that, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, "was lower than any other president in at least half a century."

Journalist Aaron Rupar, tweeting Ingraham's interview with Vance, commented, "JD Vance turns reality upside down."

The New York Independent fact-checked Vance as well, laying out a lot of data.

The Independent tweeted, "Remember this. Here's Biden's America: — Unemployment at 40-year low for two straight years. — Stock market at an all time high, 401(k)s flourishing — 2.7 million new jobs created in 2023 and 17 million overall; — Bank failures under Trump: 16 Bank Failures under Biden: 5."

The Independent also noted, "—The $2.2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act was the biggest climate bill in history — The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan gave Americans cash to cope with the pandemic downturn — The $280 billion CHIPS Act aims to position the U.S. to outcompete China in producing semiconductors and other advanced tech."

The Bulwark's Tim Miller, a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist, tweeted, "Explain to me how the Biden economy was the worst in history, every metric has deteriorated in the two months since he left, and yet somehow the fundamentals of the economy are strong now? @JDVance."

Writer Greg Cantwell tweeted, "The stock market hit record highs and unemployment reached record lows under Biden. Plus, no stupid f------g trade wars."

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