Standing in the Oval Office on June 10, President Donald Trump was asked whether he was worried about fresh government data showing inflation surging to its highest level in more than three years. He was not worried. He was, he said, in love.
"The numbers were great," Trump told reporters. "You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why? Because as soon as this war is over ... it's going to come down like a rock."
The war he referenced, the U.S. military campaign against Iran that began February 28, has driven energy prices up sharply every month since it started. In May, the Consumer Price Index rose 4.2% from a year earlier, the steepest annual increase since early 2023, and the third consecutive monthly acceleration since the conflict began. Energy costs accounted for more than 60% of the overall increase. Real average weekly earnings dropped 0.7% year-over-year, the largest such decline since February 2023, meaning paychecks are buying less for the second straight month.
The Quote Republicans Didn't Want
Within hours, Trump's own party was doing damage control.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters the comment had been taken "totally out of context," arguing Trump was expressing confidence that the numbers would look better once the war ended. Trump himself called the New York Post to clarify that what he meant was he was glad inflation wasn't higher.
Neither spin held up against the video, which exists.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), once among Trump's most vocal defenders, did not attempt a cleanup. She called the remark "absolutely outrageous" and "pretty hard to take from a billionaire president" who chose to start the war driving these prices.
"That's a punch in the gut to every single American that is struggling to pay their bills, struggling to pay grocery prices and struggling to basically keep up while their credit card debt is mounting and mounting." (Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, CNN)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) kept it short: "Trump really said, 'I love the inflation.' On camera. For all of America to hear." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said the only reasonable conclusion was that Trump "doesn't give a damn about making life better for everyday Americans."
A Campaign Promise Measured Against the Numbers
Trump ran for president in 2024 on a specific commitment: cut energy prices in half within a year of returning to office. He said it at rallies, in debates, and in television interviews across the country. In early 2026, he was still pointing to a trip to Iowa where he claimed to have seen gas at $1.85 per gallon, predicting that price would return "very soon."
Instead, energy prices rose 3.9% in May alone, on top of a 10.9% spike in March and a 3.8% increase in April. Gas is at a four-year high. The Iran war, which economists and energy analysts had warned would spike energy costs, is the direct cause, and Trump launched it.
In May, before this week's inflation data, Trump told reporters he was not thinking about Americans' personal finances "even a little bit," framing the Iran conflict as too important to weigh against household budgets. He called that statement "perfect" and said he would make it again.
The Polling Behind the Panic
Republicans facing November midterms are not wrong to be alarmed. An Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday showed 63% of Americans disapprove of how Trump has handled the economy. A separate NBC News poll found only 32% approve of his handling of inflation specifically, down from 74% in March among Republicans alone.
Trump's second-term approval rating hit a low in April, with the economy cited as the top concern. Election forecasters have begun moving Senate races toward Democrats. Republican strategists, speaking on background to multiple outlets, described the inflation comment as the kind of clip that writes itself into a 30-second ad.
Trump's theory is that once the Iran conflict resolves, prices will fall sharply enough to reset voters' memories before November. Whether that happens depends on a war that has no confirmed end date, a peace deal that Trump has described as "almost done" multiple times without a signed agreement, and an energy market that took months to spike and will not recover overnight.
In the meantime, real wages are falling, grocery prices are up, credit card debt is at record levels, and the president confirmed, on camera, in his own words, that he finds the situation to his liking.
Sources
- NBC News — Trump says 'I love the inflation' as annual rate jumps to a 3-year high
- TIME — Trump Says 'I Love the Inflation'
- The Hill — Greene: Trump's 'I love the inflation' remark going to 'bite him'
- CNBC — Trump says 'I love the inflation' after CPI hits 3-year high
Independent. Unfiltered. Unbought.
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