Trump Claims the Economy Is Alright. But the Numbers Tell a Different Story.

“Every time they want to try and get me, they say affordability,” President Donald Trump said in a voice mocking his critics during a midterms campaign rally speech in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday night. Then he claimed to have actually reduced prices “very substantially” for Americans.

He’s wrong, and Democrats smell weakness.

On Wednesday, the government released its own data. That data, part of the latest inflation report before the 2026 election, shows price increases accelerated in September, going from 0.6 percent this month compared to 0.4 percent in August. The September increase was the largest gain in five months. 

Gas prices jumped 9.1 percent from August to September—and are up by 34.2 percent compared to last September. 

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, which advises the president on domestic and international economic policy, admitted on Fox Business that the spike in inflation was “disappointing,” blaming the war in Iran for leading to a “negative shock to energy again” but saying that the report includes relatively stable food prices and drops in drug prices over the month. 

“A lot of Trump policies are helping to keep inflation down, but the energy shock is really the headline story today,” Mr. Hassett said. 

Paychecks have shrunk year-over-year for the sixth month in a row. Americans are earning less but are facing higher prices overall. 

Democrats are pouncing on the news. 

“Inflation data came in, and Donald Trump’s failed economic agenda has raised prices for Americans by 5.9%,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posted on X Wednesday morning, referring to cumulative inflation since December 2024. “That means families are paying $3,772 more thanks to inflation under Trump.”

Addressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, she asked, “Any more comments on the economic mess you and your boss created?”