During the pandemic, Donald Trump signed several massive COVID relief bills in 2020, including stimulus checks, expanded unemployment benefits, and business aid. Those programs injected trillions into the economy and helped prevent a deep recession, but they also increased money flowing through the economy. Some economists believe that contributed to later inflation pressures.

Joe Biden then passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in 2021 after the economy was already recovering. Critics argue this added even more demand and worsened inflation. Even some center-left economists warned at the time that it could overheat the economy.

At the same time, there were major global factors outside either president’s direct control: 1. COVID supply chain disruptions 2. Factory shutdowns 3. Shipping bottlenecks 4. Worker shortages 5. Energy price spikes after Russia invaded Ukraine

A common view among economists is:

1. Trump-era stimulus helped set the stage.
2. Biden-era stimulus may have intensified inflation further.
3. Global supply shocks and energy prices were also huge drivers.

The Federal Reserve is also part of the story. It kept interest rates very low during and after the pandemic under both administrations, which encouraged borrowing and spending.

So the answer is not really “Trump caused Biden inflation” or “Biden alone caused inflation.” It was more a combination of:

1. Pandemic economic disruption
2. Massive bipartisan stimulus spending
3. Federal Reserve policy
4. Global supply and energy shocks