Economist Peter Schiff recently said what many political observers have quietly noted for years: Donald Trump losing the 2020 election might have been the best thing that could’ve happened to him politically.
“The best thing to happen to Trump politically was losing the 2020 election,” Schiff posted on X.
“That loss provided him with the perfect scapegoat to blame all the economic problems on Biden. Inflation would likely have been just as high and federal deficits just as large had Trump won in 2020.”
Schiff’s point highlights how Trump has managed to turn every economic problem under President Joe Biden’s watch into political ammunition.
High prices, immigration surges, and job losses in manufacturing, Trump pins them all on Biden.
Trump told reporters in Detroit, when asked about inflation, “I’ve only been here for 11 months.”
That remark, pointed out by economist Dean Baker, suggests Trump believes presidents aren’t responsible for inflation in their first year.
But if that logic applies, then most of the early inflation during Biden’s presidency should be traced back to Trump-era policies.
Baker wrote, “Most of the Biden inflation was actually left over from Trump’s economic policies.”
By pushing this narrative, Trump shields his current presidency from criticism while attacking Biden’s record.
He has repeated this strategy across multiple issues, including farming subsidies, the war in Ukraine, and climate policy.
At a recent Cabinet meeting, Trump said, “I inherited the worst inflation in history,” and insisted, “There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything.”
Yet these claims often ignore context. For instance, Trump blamed Biden for the need to issue a $12 billion bailout for farmers, even though his own trade war with China was a major reason agriculture needed rescuing.
Ignoring His Own Track Record
According to Baker, Trump’s own economic policies added to inflation. His tariffs reversed the downward trend in prices and likely pushed inflation up by about a percentage point in the second half of 2025.
Additionally, Trump’s mass deportation policies have resulted in labor shortages across several industries.
Meanwhile, Biden’s early stimulus efforts likely contributed 1 to 2 percentage points to inflation, but they also pulled the U.S. out of a post-COVID economic stall.
Baker wrote that job growth had slowed dramatically at the end of Trump’s first term, with unemployment stuck at 6.4% in January 2021.
Once Biden passed his recovery package, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% by December 2021 and stayed at or below 4% until summer 2024.
Factory construction also surged under Biden thanks to bills like the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“These are all places where we can draw clear lines from policy to outcomes,” Baker noted.
Biden As Trump’s Permanent Foil
CNN’s Stephen Collinson observed how Trump constantly invokes Biden’s name, even though the former president is no longer in the political spotlight.
During speeches, press events, and even light-hearted moments, Trump turns the focus back to Biden.
He blamed Biden for the war in Ukraine, saying, “It was Joe Biden’s war, not my war.”
He mocked Biden’s use of an autopen for the annual turkey pardon. And he referenced Biden’s age and mental fitness, often comparing him to physically fit older men like golfer Gary Player.
“Think Biden could do that?” Trump asked a crowd. “I don’t think so, he can’t lift a club.”
Collinson points out that Trump’s fixation may be rooted in both strategy and personal resentment.
Trump blames Biden for the criminal indictments he faced after his first term, even though there’s no evidence the White House directed prosecutors.
Still, the real challenge for Trump is that he’s now the one in charge, and voters are noticing.
A Fox News poll last month found that 62% of Americans blamed Trump for current economic conditions, while only 32% blamed Biden. Trump’s approval rating sits at 39% in CNN’s polling average.
Reality vs. Rhetoric
While Trump continues to paint a grim picture of a country undone by Biden, some of the data contradicts him.
Inflation has been cooling, and many of the economic struggles he points to have roots in global issues, not just Biden-era policies.
Baker criticized Trump’s claims of massive tariff-driven revenue and foreign investment as being disconnected from economic reality.
He wrote, “In Trump’s imaginary world, he is pulling in tens of trillions in foreign investment and trillions of dollars in tariff revenue that is paying down the debt. Too bad no one lives in that world other than a 79-year-old man with serious cognitive problems.”
Trump’s ability to deflect blame has long been part of his political appeal. But now, with the economy under his watch and inflation ticking back up, critics argue he can’t keep leaning on Biden forever.
As Collinson put it, “Voters — who unlike Trump live in the present — aren’t buying it.”
IMAGE CREDIT: ”Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.