A back-and-forth on CNN turned into one of those moments where you can almost feel the eye rolls through the screen. Abby Phillip stepped in to clear things up after conservative radio host Ben Ferguson tried to defend one of President Donald Trump’s talking points about inflation. The whole thing unfolded on NewsNight and quickly veered into a debate about basic definitions.
Trump has kept repeating the claim that President Joe Biden oversaw the worst inflation in American history. That is simply not true, but it remains one of his favourite lines.
What makes it even more awkward is that a Fox News poll released this week shows only 32% of voters think Biden is responsible for the state of the economy, while 62% say Trump is. The same poll also shows Trump with a rough 38% approval rating on the economy.
Richard Quest, the CNN International host known for cutting through nonsense with a surgical level of calm, pushed back on Trump’s claim during the panel discussion. He said he heard Trump insist Biden caused the worst inflation ever and added that no matter what definition anyone uses, inflation under Biden was not anywhere near the worst in American history. Quest called it a lie and said the facts simply do not support it.
Ferguson immediately jumped in and tried to reroute the conversation. He asked Quest when the worst inflation actually was if not during the Biden years. Quest answered plainly that the worst inflation took place in the 1920s.
Ferguson shot back that he was not alive then, trying to make the point that what matters is what people have lived through. Quest gently reminded him that he also was not alive in the 1920s but that historical facts still exist whether they fit someone’s political argument or not.
That is when Phillip stepped in with the moment that made the rounds online. She looked at the two men and reminded everyone that listening matters. Saying something was the worst ever is not the same thing as saying it was the worst in your lifetime.
She urged the panel to avoid being silly about something so straightforward. Her tone was patient but firm, the way a teacher sounds when she has explained something three times already.
Quest tried to continue his point, but Ferguson pushed back again. He argued that when Trump talks about inflation, he is talking to the people standing in front of him and what their experiences have been. Quest disagreed.
Ferguson jumped in again, asking if Trump was supposed to be referring to dead people. Quest replied that with respect, that was not the point and that Trump was making a sweeping claim about history, not just speaking to a room of supporters.
The exchange never got angry, but it did get messy, with everyone trying to talk over each other at some point. Still, the main takeaway stood tall. Facts do not shift just because someone wants them to fit a political message.
Inflation in the Biden years was high and painful, but it was nowhere close to the worst the country has ever experienced. Phillip’s reminder about the basics of language ended up being the clearest part of the entire conversation.