Biden claims inflation 'was already there when I got here,' says he takes no blame

President Biden touted a surge in U.S. job growth and said Friday he takes no blame for inflation, claiming it 'was already there when I got here.'

President Biden said Friday he takes no responsibility for the ongoing inflation crisis in the country, as he highlighted a stronger-than-expected January jobs report.

The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, more than double what was expected.

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"Do you take any blame for inflation?" one reporter asked.

"No," Biden responded.

President Biden returns to the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 2, 2023, following his holiday vacation in St. Croix. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)

"Remember what the economy was like when I got here? Jobs were hemorrhaging, inflation was rising. We weren't manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty. That's why I don't," the president said.

The consumer price index for January 2021, when President Biden took office, was 1.4%. The most recent inflation reading, for December 2022, was 6.5% year over year.

US JOB GROWTH UNEXPECTEDLY SURGES IN JANUARY AS ECONOMY ADDS 517,000 NEW POSITIONS

Experts at the Heritage Foundation analyzed consumer prices and interest rates and found in their latest report released Thursday that the average American household has lost the equivalent of $7,400 in annual income since Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021.

The income loss represents an increase of $200 from September, when the think tank's research found a $7,200 decline in annual income for the average American household dating back to the start of Biden's term.

FED RAISES INTEREST RATES BY A QUARTER POINT BUT SIGNALS INFLATION FIGHT'S NOT OVER

Over the last year, Fed policymakers voted to raise interest rates seven straight times to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. At the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, the Fed's rate-setting committee again raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a point.

Employers added 517,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)

Despite the ongoing struggle to control inflation, January did see a surprising comeback in the job market.

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Employers added 517,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, easily topping the 185,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists. It marked the best month for job creation since July.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, unexpectedly dropped to 3.4%, the lowest level since 1969.

FOX Business' Megan Henney and Eric Revell contributed to this report.