Investor and former journalist Steve Rattner on Friday brought out the charts to fact-check what he described as President Donald Trump's economic falsehoods, arguing that a president facing economic setbacks is now trying to pin the blame on the former administration.

Among Trump's most prominent claims is that, under former President Joe Biden, the United States experienced the "worst inflation in history." The data does not come close to supporting that. Inflation did spike during the global pandemic, but it rose across the board in countries around the world. As it came down, Biden handed off an inflation rate below 3 percent. Under Trump, the figure is now closing in on 4 percent, at 3.7 percent. The distinction matters because an inflation rate measures how fast prices are rising — so any reading above zero signals that costs are still climbing for consumers, not falling.

"When you talk about all his challenges and how he's trying to avoid this, you know, this is in the desperate men do desperate things category. He's just making a lot of stuff up," Rattner said. "And so this is just one single rally. So, he talked about inflation. He claims that prices are coming down. We're bringing prices way, way down. But you can see, as you guys have been talking about already this morning, and I think everybody in America now knows inflation is, in fact, up to 3 percent, well above where it was when Joe Biden left office."

Rattner said that tariffs, Trump's flagship policy, caused inflation to jump 25 percent.

"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough asked Rattner to restate the comparison between the rate at Trump's inauguration and today. "So what you're saying is, and when Donald Trump says that he's brought inflation down from where it was when Joe Biden left office, he's lying. And it's actually — inflation is 25% higher today than it was when Joe Biden left office," Scarborough asked. Rattner agreed.

For historical context, inflation reached 15 percent in 1980 and ran anywhere between 20 and 25 percent during the 1920s.

Trump's second claim — that gas prices were also higher under Biden — similarly conflicts with the record. While fuel costs were higher at times during Biden's term, they were lower when Trump took office than they are today. Pump prices carry particular weight in this debate because gasoline is among the most visible costs households encounter, and fuel expenses feed into the price of goods that move by truck.

"Come on, man," Scarborough said after the clip played. "You're not even trying anymore! This is like Elvis 77. You're just, like, sweating too much and just kind of throwing your scarves to the first row. You're just not even trying, Steve. He's not even trying to lie well, anymore."

Rattner explained that fuel costs are now clearly above $4 per gallon, whereas they were under $4 under Biden. Scarborough remarked that most people would be elated to have gas at those prices, then asked Rattner to quantify the gap, citing his own modest economics credentials: "So, again, for those of you who don't know my economic background, it's pretty, pretty advanced, pretty deep. I took Econ 101 with Abdul Moini at the University of Alabama, and I read Sports Illustrated in the back row, and I got a gentleman's C. So, I don't know exactly like the percentages, but $4.35, how much higher is that percentage-wise than $3, about your town, man."

Rattner answered that gas is roughly 44 percent higher under Trump than it was under Biden.

With tariffs at the center of the administration's economic agenda, inflation at 3.7 percent and pump prices above $4, the numbers Rattner highlighted are the same ones updated in regular government inflation reports and daily fuel price trackers — meaning the competing narratives will keep being measured against fresh data.

The segment aired on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and is available on YouTube: clip one, clip two.