Biggs Says Inflation Was “Tamed” and “Disputes That Tariffs Contributed To Rising Prices for Arizonans”

Biggs Says Inflation Was "Tamed" and "Disputes That Tariffs Contributed To Rising Prices for Arizonans"

New reporting from The Copper Courier unveils how gubernatorial candidate "Andy Biggs says inflation was 'tamed' - but March data show prices rising at their fastest pace since 2024."

The report adds that Arizonans "are seeing the highest prices for things like food takeout, and over 160,000 Arizonans are struggling to pay utility bills," but Biggs "disputes that tariffs contributed to rising prices for Arizonans" and downplayed the high costs Arizonans are paying by calling them "short-term challenges."

Arizonans are hurting as GOP policies send the price of groceries, gas, and health care up "at their fastest pace" in years. Biggs even appeared on Fox News the day the tariffs were announced and "continues to defend them as he makes his pitch to win over Arizona voters."

Biggs' staunch defense of Trump comes ahead of their rally in Arizona at a church linked to a sexual abuse lawsuit. Biggs and David Schweikert are locked in a chaotic and expensive primary where they're putting support for Trump's cost hikes and health care cuts ahead of Arizona.

The Copper Courier: Andy Biggs defends Trump's tariffs as Arizonans feel the pinch

KEY EXCERPTS:

• US Rep. Andy Biggs says inflation was "tamed" - but March data show prices rising at their fastest pace since 2024.

• As Arizonans navigate rising prices at the grocery store, on utility bills and at the gas pump, driven in part by President Donald Trump's tariff policies and the US-Iran war, US Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is in a newly surfaced audio recording.

• "Outside of the recent gas price hike due largely because of uncertainty over the Iran bombing, he had basically tamed inflation. Remember, a lot of people say the costs weren't coming down…He brought everything back down."

• In another audio clip from the same event, Biggs disputes that tariffs contributed to rising prices for Arizonans.

• Biggs, who is running to be the state's next governor, has been a longtime advocate of Trump's sweeping tariff policies, voting against measures to terminate them and calling them a "brilliant" economic strategy - despite more than 1,000 economists warning the policies would harm average Americans and the broader global economy.

• After "Liberation Day" in April 2025 - when Trump announced sweeping tariffs against dozens of countries, including longtime trading partners such as China, Canada, and Mexico - Biggs appeared on Fox News in May to defend the move.
• Biggs predicted the policies would bring only "short-term challenges." But roughly a year later, the tariff landscape looks nothing like he described. In February, the US Supreme Court struck down the bulk of Trump's tariffs and within hours, the administration imposed a replacement 10% tariff on all trading partners. Arizonans are still feeling it in their wallets.

• Arizona small businesses have sounded the alarm about the negative impacts tariffs are having on their operations. Working class Arizonans, too, are seeing the highest prices for things like food takeout, and over 160,000 Arizonans are struggling to pay utility bills as costs have jumped by 50% since 2022. Nationally, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March - the fastest pace in nearly two years - driven largely by a 21.2% single-month spike in gasoline prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Even as Trump has faced criticism for his tariff policies from fellow Republicans, Biggs continues to defend them as he makes his pitch to win over Arizona voters.

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