A new report on Wednesday showed inflation rising 4.2 percent in May, marking its highest level in three years and underlining how hard the Iran war is hitting consumers.
The Labor Department report is unwelcome news for President Trump and the GOP in an election year where affordability is the dominant issue. Democrats were already preparing campaign ads to hit the GOP hard over both the Iran war and Trump’s handling of the economy in general.
The report, coupled with Trump’s renewed strikes against Iran, rocked the stock market, one of Trump’s preferred economic indicators. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 900 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also dropping.
The president offered some head-spinning remarks in response to the news, saying he “loves” inflation, touting the rising stock market throughout his second term and saying the U.S. snuck 22 tankers carrying millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
“No, I love it. The numbers were great,” Trump said when asked if he was concerned about the latest data.
Trump sought to clarify the comments, telling the New York Post that he loved that inflation wasn’t even higher.
“I was talking about inflation numbers that will be so good as soon as the war ends. The numbers will come way down, that’s what I’m talking about,” Trump said. “I’m always taken out of context.”
Trump noted in Truth Social post following his remarks to reporters that the U.S. military executed a “secret mission” to get oil tankers and commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz that resulted in over 100 million barrels of oil flowing through.
When asked for clarification on his inflation comments, the White House referred The Hill to the social media post.
One Republican campaign strategist touted the administration’s efforts to escort oil tankers through the vital shipping lane, noting it shows the administration is “aware of how important low prices are ahead of the midterms.”
Still, Democrats argue the clip is gold for ads and messaging in an election battle where affordability has become the central issue.
“Every day the president says he loves something Americans clearly hate is a good day for Democrats,” said Andrew Mamo, a Democratic campaign adviser.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), chair of the Democratic Senate campaign arm, questioned in an X post whether Trump was “happy that working people were losing money” and “happy that families are struggling.”
Meanwhile, the House Democratic campaign arm sought to tie Trump’s comments to Republicans running down the ballot in November.
“Voters deserve to know if House Republicans up for election this year also love ‘the inflation’ like Donald Trump,” said Viet Shelton, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“Because no sane person does, and this tone-deaf remark is another reminder that Republicans and Donald Trump don’t care about everyday folks, just keeping their billionaire backers happy,” he added.
This isn’t the first time Trump has made comments that his critics have turned into a soundbite to paint him as out of touch on the economy. Last month, Trump made headlines when he said he didn’t think about Americans’ financial situations when negotiating with Iran.
The president also raised eyebrows during a Cabinet meeting when he said he did not care about the midterms in the context of negotiating with Iran.
“Trump has been a disastrous messenger for the party,” said Rob Stutzman, a California-based Republican strategist. “I think a lot of that is evidence he doesn’t care about the party. I do think he cares about losing control of Congress for obvious reasons.”
“But he’s given very little attention strategically from a messaging perspective, from an endorsement perspective that makes any sense on trying to win the midterms,” he continued.
But other Republicans are defending the president’s comments.
“It was totally out of context. You know what he was talking about,” said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was in the Oval Office when Trump made the comments earlier.
“The president is laser focused on the domestic economic situation,” he said, adding that Trump is working to bring down prices.
Democrats grilled Energy Secretary Chris Wright over Trump’s comments during a House Science, Space and Technology committee hearing, asking him point-blank if he too loves inflation.
“No, I would prefer lower inflation,” Wright responded.
When asked whether he was aware of Trump’s comments, Wright described Trump as “an entertaining, hyperbolic guy who’s done tremendous leadership.”
