With all the “news” slanted, I decided to use AI, to assist with presenting to me, available information from the internet. Because Politics over rules information, and there is so much media attention given to how I am suppose to feel about the economy, I decided to test results from Perplexity.

Caveat – Always review the results and the source(s) and understand these AI’s, Chatgpt, Grok, Perplexity, Meta and Google are Programmed as to how data retrieved, filtered and presented. As a human, use critical thinking to interpret.

Following is UNEDITED responses from Perplexity.

Compare Inflation from Biden years to Trump

Inflation was much higher during Biden’s term than during Trump’s first term, but the exact comparison depends on whether you use an average rate or the worst monthly peak. Biden’s average inflation rate was about 4.95% versus Trump’s first-term average of about 2.46%, and Biden’s inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022.

How they differ

• Trump’s first term (2017–2021): average inflation about 2.46%.
• Biden’s term (2021–2025): average inflation about 4.95%.
• Biden’s peak: 9.1% year-over-year inflation in June 2022.
• Trump’s latest year: one recent source reports inflation around 3.8% in April 2026, but that is after Biden and is not directly part of the Biden-vs-first-term Trump comparison.

Important caveat

A peak monthly rate and an average across a presidency are not the same thing. Some political comparisons also mix a single high month under Biden with an average under Trump, which makes the contrast look larger than an apples-to-apples comparison.

Plain-English take

If you want the cleanest headline, Biden-era inflation was higher than Trump’s first-term inflation by roughly 2.5 percentage points on average. If you want the biggest shock point, Biden’s inflation spike reached 9.1% at its worst.

Would you like a simple year-by-year table for 2017–2024?

Real wage comparison Biden era vs trump

Real wages were generally weaker during most of the Biden era than they were by the end of Trump’s first term, but the comparison depends on the exact metric and time window. One recent analysis says real wages fell 1.4% during Biden’s Jan. 2021–Jan. 2025 term, while another says real wages rose 0.9% in Biden’s final year alone.

What the data suggests

• During Biden’s early term, inflation rose faster than wages, so purchasing power fell.
• By the end of Biden’s term, real wages had improved somewhat, but one analysis says they still had not fully returned to January 2021 levels.
• For Trump’s first year of his second term, one analysis reports wages up 3.7% and prices up 2.4%, implying about 1.3% annualized real wage growth.

Why comparisons differ

Real wages are usually measured as wage growth minus inflation, so the result changes a lot depending on whether you look at monthly data, a full presidency, or just the latest year. Political sources also often choose different endpoints, which can make the same economy look better or worse.

Simple takeaway

If you mean the full Biden era versus Trump’s first term, Biden’s period was worse for real wage growth overall because inflation outpaced pay for much of it. If you mean the most recent yearly trend, the latest Trump-era numbers look stronger on real wages.

Would you like me to make a side-by-side table of nominal wages, inflation, and real wages?

Yes, please provide a side-by-side table of those metrics

Here’s a side-by-side view of the main wage/inflation metrics we discussed.

Period	Nominal wage trend	Inflation trend	Real wage trend
Trump first term	Wages rose, and one 2025 analysis says the first-year gain was about 3.7%	Average inflation was about 2.46%	Roughly positive, with one analysis implying about 1.3% annualized real wage growth in the first year of Trump’s second term
Biden era	Wages rose, but inflation often rose faster during much of the term	Average inflation was about 4.95%, with a peak of 9.1% in June 2022	One analysis says real wages fell about 1.4% over Biden’s full Jan. 2021 to Jan. 2025 term
Latest Trump-era reading	Wages up 3.7% in the first year of the new term	Prices up 2.4% in that same period	About 1.3% annualized real wage growth

How to read it

Nominal wages are the paycheck number before inflation, while real wages measure purchasing power after inflation. That means a period can show wage growth but still deliver worse living standards if prices rise faster.

Main takeaway

The Biden era looks weaker on real wages overall because inflation outpaced pay for a large share of the term. Trump’s first-term inflation was lower, and the latest Trump-era wage numbers look more favorable for purchasing power.

Would you like this turned into a chart next?

Follow-ups

Yes, please generate a bar chart for these metrics

No, I prefer a line graph showing the inflation trend over time

Yes, but include a column for housing affordability as well

No, can you create a simplified summary table for a presentation

Yes, but show the comparison broken down by economic sector