Trump Says He 'Loves' 4.2% Inflation as Dow Drops 900
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- Labor Department reported inflation rose 4.2% in May, its highest level in three years, with the report explicitly linking the surge to the Iran war's toll on consumers
- Trump told reporters "I love it" and called the numbers "great" when asked about inflation, later telling the New York Post he was talking about inflation not being even higher and that he is "always taken out of context"
- Stock market plunged on the report and renewed U.S. strikes on Iran: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 900 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also falling
- Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. military executed a "secret mission" escorting 22 tankers carrying over 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the White House pointed The Hill to for inflation-comment clarification
- Democrats mobilized the clip for midterm messaging, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand questioning whether Trump is "happy that working people were losing money" and DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton asking every House Republican up for reelection whether they also "love the inflation"
- Republicans were split between defending Trump as out of context (Speaker Mike Johnson) and conceding the damage — California-based GOP strategist Rob Stutzman called Trump a "disastrous messenger" for the party
- The remark is the latest in a pattern of Trump's provocative economic comments, including previous statements that he doesn't think about Americans' financial situations when negotiating with Iran and that he doesn't care about the midterms
Why it matters: Affordability is the central issue in a midterm election year, and Trump just handed Democrats a viral clip of himself saying he "loves" 4.2% inflation — paired with a 900-point Dow selloff. Even a Republican strategist called him a "disastrous messenger," giving House and Senate Democrats fresh, quotable ad material linking every down-ballot Republican to a tone-deaf presidential soundbite on prices.
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