It’s a bit trickier than Biden vs. Trump’s fault when it comes to our current economy:

As with every president, Joe Biden inherited Donald Trump’s economy when he walked into the 2021 White House doors. We were in the throes of COVID-19, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, but gas prices had previously fallen as people feared leaving far from home and commuted less before return-to-office orders. At the same time, businesses also shuttered. It was all very new and strange. 

By the time Joe left —shortly after the US government officially declared an end to the COVID-19 pandemic — he had become the first US president to see monthly gains in employment throughout his entire presidency, and unemployment saw a 54-year low in 2023. However, it’s undeniable that his presidency also saw inflation, inflation, inflation. And just as Trump’s lower cost of living can be partially attributed to the pandemic’s aftershock, so, too, can the later call-and-response rise in cost of living, experts say. 

TLDR: The pandemic partially caused wins and losses for both Trump and Biden. We saw what Biden did with what Trump gave him — now it’s time to see how Trump handles the good and bad of his inheritance.