Trump v Biden Performance + Immigration

For your YouTube video, I suggest a two-column comparison of December 31, 2024, versus September 30, 2026, showing eight economic indicators.

There are three important distinctions to make so the comparison is accurate:

• Interest rates, gasoline prices, rents, and CPI: Use figures for December 2024 and September 2026, or the closest available reporting dates.

• Defense spending and federal deficits: Use fiscal years 2024 and 2026, both ending September 30. These are more meaningful than comparing two calendar-year snapshots.

• Inflation: Use the 12-month CPI percentage change ending in December 2024 and September 2026, rather than the inflation rate for a single month.

For mortgage rates, I’ll use the national average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. For rents, I’ll use a national two-bedroom apartment measure, rather than Richmond-area rents.

U.S. economic comparison: 2024 vs. 2026

National figures. FY denotes federal fiscal year.

The federal funds figures are the Federal Reserve’s target ranges at the two dates.

Open Market Operations

The mortgage figures use the Freddie Mac monthly series, with the 2024 value rounded.

The Rational Moderate

CPI and inflation come from BLS data.

2024 M12 Results

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Deficits are from Treasury fiscal-year reporting.

U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data

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Two particularly useful calculations for your video:

• Overall consumer prices increased approximately 6.8% between December 2024 and September 2026, as measured by the CPI-U.

• The annual federal deficit increased approximately $159 billion, or 8.7%, comparing FY2024 with FY2026.

Notice that the inflation rate of 3.7% in September 2026 does not mean prices increased only 3.7% since December 2024. That 3.7% measures the preceding 12 months.

Additional verified figures

I located the gasoline prices and September 2026 two-bedroom rent figure.

The gasoline figures use the December 2024 monthly average and September 28, 2026 weekly observation.

Historical Data & Trends

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The rent figure is Realtor.com’s median asking rent for two-bedroom units in its tracked rental markets, not a census of every U.S. apartment.

Realtor.com Economic Research

The 2024 defense figure is Treasury’s actual national-defense outlays, not the amount Congress authorized.

Bureau of the Fiscal Service

One recommendation for the YouTube presentation: Label the defense row National Defense Spending (FY), rather than Defense Budget, so it can use actual expenditures in both years.

I would not publish the three still-unverified cells until we have comparable figures. In particular, using a different rent survey or comparing defense appropriations with actual spending could distort the result.

Sources: Federal Reserve, Freddie Mac, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Treasury, and Realtor.com.

U.S. Economic Indicators: 2024 vs. 2026

Here is the revised table for your YouTube video. I’ve changed Defense Budget to National Defense Spending, using actual federal expenditures, and added numbered footnotes explaining the comparisons.

Carry Forward Learning

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Footnotes for the video

¹ Federal Reserve target range in effect at the specified date. ² National average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate; monthly average, rounded. ³ National regular gasoline prices. December 2024 monthly average compared with the September 28, 2026 weekly observation. ⁴ Median asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment across the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan markets, as reported by Realtor.com. September 2026 was $1,890. The comparable December 2024 figure still requires verification. ⁵ CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted; 1982–1984 = 100. ⁶ Actual federal spending and deficit for fiscal years ending September 30, 2024, and September 30, 2026. National defense spending is the Treasury budget-function classification, not merely Pentagon appropriations. ⁷ Annual inflation measured by the 12-month change in CPI-U ending in the specified month.

Update: I found the missing December 2024 rent figure. Realtor.com reports $1,880 per month, compared with $1,890 in September 2026—an increase of $10, or approximately 0.5%.

Realtor.com Economic Research

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You can therefore replace the apartment-rent row with:

The footnote already supplied applies to both figures. All eight indicators now have values, so the table is ready to be formatted into a cellphone-sized YouTube graphic.

I share your skepticism. The figures I gave you—$1,880 in December 2024 and $1,890 in September 2026—suggest that two-bedroom rents increased by only 0.5% over 21 months.

That is possible for a particular rental market or survey, but I would not use those numbers in your YouTube video without further examination.

There are two problems with the comparison:

1. Asking rents versus actual rents. Realtor.com measures rents advertised for available apartments. It does not necessarily reflect what existing tenants are paying, including rent increases upon lease renewal.

2. Geographic coverage. Realtor.com’s survey of the 50 largest metropolitan areas is not a comprehensive national average. It also may not reflect rent changes in smaller cities and rural communities.

For a video comparing economic conditions under two administrations, I would prefer a consistent national statistical series.

What I found

The figures are actually correct according to Realtor.com’s published reports.

Sources: Realtor.com rental reports.

Yahoo Finance

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The important discovery is that asking rents have been declining in many major metropolitan markets, particularly following increases in apartment construction. Realtor.com reports that September 2026 marked the 40th consecutive month of year-over-year declines for two-bedroom asking rents.

Realtor.com Economic Research

However, Zillow’s September 2026 report tells a different story: its national rent index increased 2.7% over the preceding year.

Zillow Group

That difference is precisely why your skepticism is justified. These sources measure different rental markets and use different methodologies.

My recommendation: Keep the Realtor.com figures in the table, but change the row heading to 2-Bedroom Asking Rent (50 Largest Metros) and retain the methodological footnote.

That gives your viewers accurate, verifiable numbers without suggesting that the typical existing tenant’s rent has barely increased since December 2024.

Agreed. We’ll eliminate apartment rents entirely from the YouTube comparison, including the footnote.

That leaves seven economic indicators:

1. Federal funds rate

2. 30-year mortgage interest rate

3. Regular gasoline price per gallon

4. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

5. National defense spending (actual fiscal-year expenditures)

6. Federal budget deficit

7. Annual inflation rate

We’ll retain the explanatory footnotes so viewers understand exactly what is being compared between December 2024 and September 2026.

Actually, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) DOES include gasoline prices. Gasoline is part of the CPI’s Transportation category, along with automobile purchases, insurance, repairs, and other transportation expenses.

The CPI measures changes in prices paid by urban consumers for a broad basket of goods and services, including:

• Housing: Rent and the estimated rental value of owner-occupied housing (not home purchase prices).

• Food: Groceries and restaurant meals.

• Transportation: Gasoline, vehicles, insurance, repairs, and public transportation.

• Medical care: Medical services, prescription drugs, and medical supplies.

• Energy: Gasoline, electricity, natural gas, and heating fuels.

• Other expenses: Clothing, education, recreation, and personal care.

Suggested YouTube footnote

CPI (Consumer Price Index): Measures changes in consumer prices for housing, food, gasoline, utilities, transportation, medical care, clothing, and other goods and services. Includes gasoline prices but excludes home purchase prices. Figures represent the CPI-U (all urban consumers).

One additional distinction is important for your table: Headline CPI includes food and energy, whereas Core CPI excludes food and energy.

We’re using headline CPI, which is appropriate for your comparison because it reflects a broader measure of consumers’ living costs.

Also, the CPI is an index, not a percentage. The separate inflation-rate row shows the percentage increase in the CPI over the preceding 12 months.

Exactly. The CPI figures indicate that consumers were paying approximately 6.8% more in September 2026 than in December 2024 for the same representative basket of goods and services.

Using our figures:

• December 2024 CPI: 315.605

• September 2026 CPI: 336.940

• Increase: 6.76%

So, something that cost $100 in December 2024 would cost approximately $106.76 in September 2026, assuming its price increased at the same rate as the overall CPI.

One important qualification: This is an average across the CPI basket. Individual households may have experienced greater or smaller increases depending on their spending habits.

For your YouTube video, I’d suggest adding a footnote:

CPI measures changes in the prices of a representative basket of consumer goods and services, including food, housing, gasoline, utilities, transportation, and medical care. The CPI increased approximately 6.8% between December 2024 and September 2026.

And remember, 6.8% is the cumulative increase over 21 months, not an annual inflation rate.