Biden Takes A Strong Stand Against Inflation…In 1978

January 2, 2024

In a recently uncovered newspaper ad from October 1978, then-Senator Joe Biden described inflation as “ripping into the fabric of American society.”  As part of his effort to separate from President Jimmy Carter’s economic failures during his re-election bid as Delaware’s U.S. Senator, Biden notes how he worked to ensure energy rates were not raised on Delaware ratepayers. In contrast, according to Biden’s Administration, electric rates in the United States increased by 13 percent  from 2021 to 2022. 

The Daily Caller reports on the ad’s content. 

“We must bring these problems under control and the first place to start is the cost of the government,” Biden said, according to the advertisement. “I plan to keep chopping away — cutting wherever I can — so that eventually, we’re going to bring the monstrous federal budget under control. It’ll take time, but I know we can do it. We must!”

When Biden ran his ad, the inflation rate was 8.9 percent, which is slightly lower than the 9.1 percent recorded during his first term as President. The average inflation rate for 1978 was 7.6 percent, which is less than the average rate of 8 percent in 2022.

“Almost four decades ago, Joe Biden suggested that White House policies were linked to inflation, but now that opinion seems to have joined the long and growing list of items that have slipped his mind,” said Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director for Power The Future. “Joe Biden worked to separate himself from President Carter to save his political future, but he won’t be able to separate himself from his own failed energy record. Energy is on the ballot in 2024, and that’s a problem for Joe Biden because energy and inflation are inextricably linked.”

It is ironic that in 1978, Biden tried to separate himself from President Jimmy Carter because Biden and Carter’s presidencies are often compared to one another, especially regarding their energy policies. Last year, we released a video highlighting how eerily similar Biden and Carter’s energy policies are. The video examines footage of President Carter’s speech to the nation on April 18, 1977, compared with various clips of Biden striking nearly identical tones throughout his campaign and presidency.