Tag Archives: Consumer Price Index

GO Banking Rates: Trump Said He Would End Inflation on Day 1 of His Presidency — See Where We Stand Now

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On the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly promised to “end inflation on Day One” of his presidency.

“Starting on Day One of my new administration, we will end inflation, and we will make America affordable again,” the president said in at an October campaign rally in Saginaw, Michigan, per RollCall.

How well has the president kept that promise?

Inflation Since January

Over the eight months from January through August, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate averaged 2.65%, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That remains higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, but not egregiously so.

The problem for Trump — and all Americans — is the change in trend direction, not the average.

Inflation had been trending downward when Trump entered the White House in January. It dropped from 3.0% in January to 2.3% in April, and Trump has claimed many times that he has in fact defeated inflation. As recently as Sept. 8, he told WABC, “We have no inflation. Prices are down on just about everything.”

But inflation has been rebounding since April, rising from 2.3% to 2.9% in August. What changed?

Tariffs Trickling Down to Consumers

Through June, companies only passed on 22% of the heightened cost of imported goods to consumers, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis shared with Bloomberg.

Yet the bank warned that if the current tariff policies continue, that number will rise to 67%.

Sure enough, the latest CPI report found that grocery prices jumped 0.6% in August, the largest leap in three years. Apparel and audiovisual prices rose 0.5%, while car parts increased 0.6%. Coffee costs 20% more than it did a year ago.

Overall prices rose 0.4% in August, the largest monthly gain since December.

Ironically, President Trump may have actually been able to deliver on his campaign promise to curb inflation quickly, if it weren’t for sweeping tariffs. All Americans can do today is speculate on that point however, as inflation reaccelerates.

In a nutshell: Trend is upwards; total inflation was 0.4% (annualized rate 4.8%) in August.

Not good!!!

Trump Said He Would End Inflation on Day 1 of His Presidency — See Where We Stand Now
Trump vowed to end inflation on day one—has he kept that promise? Explore where prices, wages and the economy stand now under his leadership.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/trump-said-he-would-end-inflation-on-day-1-of-his-presidency-see-where-we-stand-now/ar-AA1MTakk

MSNBC: Maddow Blog | Trump prefers to play make-believe amid discouraging news on inflation

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As inflation inches higher and consumer prices climb, the president is resorting to a familiar tactic: He’s making stuff up.

For Americans concerned about inflation and consumer costs, recent developments have been discouraging. Two weeks ago, for example, the public learned that the Consumer Price Index climbed unexpectedly in June, amid signs that Donald Trump’s trade tariffs were pushing prices higher.

This week, the disappointing news continued as the Commerce Department reported the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — a metric that’s closely watched by the Federal Reserve for evidence of inflation — is also climbing, and as The New York Times reported, the data represented “the latest sign that President Trump’s tariffs are starting to bleed through into consumer prices.”

Then Trump sat down with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine and made a rather specific claim, not only about the key economic issue, but about his perceived successes.

“You know, if you think, inflation, I’ve already taken care of,” the president claimed. “Prices are way down for everything — groceries, everything.”

Certainly this is the official White House line, with a variety of administration officials pushing nearly identical rhetoric.

But reality won’t budge. As the Trump administration’s own data shows, grocery costs have gone up since the president returned to the Oval Office, not down.

A couple of weeks ago at a White House event for a Republican audience, Trump said Democrats “lie” when they say the prices of food and groceries have gone up, but as a CNN report noted soon after, “Nonsense. It’s correct, not a lie, to say overall prices, grocery prices and food prices in general are up during this presidency.”

This was one of the critical issues of the 2024 race, and the Republican president is clearly failing — both to deliver the results he promised and to tell the truth about reality.

Throughout last year, then-candidate Trump was repeatedly asked about his plan to lower consumer prices. Common sense suggested he would’ve prepared at least some kind of coherent answer, but that never happened. He simply said it would all work out wonderfully once he returned to power.

As prices climb, the president could acknowledge the facts and perhaps even accept some responsibility, but he prefers to play make-believe.

Trump prefers to play make-believe amid discouraging news on inflation
As inflation inches higher and consumer prices climb, the president is resorting to a familiar tactic: He’s making stuff up.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-prefers-play-make-believe-discouraging-news-inflation-rcna222243