President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that inflation was at a 9% rate when he entered office, even though the rate of price level increases was only a fraction as high at the time.

Biden remarked in an interview with CNN about the economy under his leadership that “no president has had the run we’ve had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation,” yet he misrepresented inflation rates over the past four years and claimed he caused rates to fall.

“It was 9% when I came to office. 9%. But look, people have a right to be concerned, ordinary people,” Biden asserted. CNN immediately noted that inflation peaked at 9.1% in the summer of 2022, but that inflation was 1.4% when the commander-in-chief entered office in early 2021.

Biden administration officials have downplayed the severity of price levels over the past several years, repeatedly claiming credit for marginally lower inflation readings from month to month while overlooking the rates of inflation at the start of his term. The most recent official inflation report indicates that prices were rising 3.5% year-over-year as of two months ago.

The core inflation metric, which omits the more volatile food and energy categories, was rising at 3.8% year-over-year as of two months ago. Gas prices have also increased under Biden.

The interview came as voters are hesitant toward the state of the economy. One recent survey from CNN found that Biden has a mere 34% approval rating for the economy and a 29% approval rating on inflation. The outlet noted that “voters say economic concerns are more important to them when choosing a candidate” relative to the last two presidential election cycles: some 65% of voters presently call the economy “extremely important” in determining their vote, a sentiment shared by 40% of voters in 2020 and 46% of voters in 2016.

Biden has meanwhile emphasized tax reform efforts that he claims will only impact the wealthiest taxpayers. His most recent budget proposal suggests an increase in the highest long-term capital gains and qualified dividends tax from 23.8% to as much as 44.6%. He has also vowed to let the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a landmark legislative victory from the term of former President Donald Trump, sunset at the end of next year.