Trump tells reporters, “I love the inflation,” during exchange
Pressed on fresh US government figures showing consumer inflation in May rose at its fastest rate in three years — and asked whether that surge could hurt his fellow Republicans only months before November’s midterm election — Mr...
With inflation climbing past 4% and political pressure mounting, US President Donald Trump struck a strikingly defiant note, telling reporters he “loved” inflation while again insisting prices would fall once the Iran war comes to an end.
Pressed on fresh US government figures showing consumer inflation in May rose at its fastest rate in three years — and asked whether that surge could hurt his fellow Republicans only months before November’s midterm election — Mr Trump replied: “I love the inflation.”
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The president went on to describe how he approved a plan to secretly move oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz amid fears that rising costs would fuel inflation even further. Mr Trump said the decision was “worth it to me,” and portrayed the operation as a success.
“When it’s over, you will see oil drop to where it was before,” Mr Trump said of the wider war. “It’s coming down. It’s going to come down like a rock.”
Persistently higher prices could also complicate the path for the US Federal Reserve, making it less likely to cut interest rates — a move that would reduce borrowing costs and one Mr Trump has pushed for since returning to power last year.
Republicans are trying to hold on to their majorities in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, but party officials fear a voter backlash over consumer costs could hand control to Democrats, with the cost of living still a defining issue for many Americans.
Mr Trump returned to the White House after the 2024 presidential election in large part on a promise to bring inflation down, but his approval rating — including public marks on his handling of living costs — has since slipped to the lowest point of his political career.
Attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for tanker traffic and the movement of goods have so far made little headway, while industry executives and analysts warn that the coming weeks could deliver another oil price shock severe enough to rattle wider financial markets.
