Recommendations of the Editorial team
As the fallout from Donald Trump’s war with Iran continues to weigh on the American economy, administration officials insist that the situation is not just fine, but downright brilliant. Americans are buying domestic oil, the stock market is going from record to record, and the long-promised golden age is just beginning. But the numbers don’t lie: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that inflation rose nearly 3.8 percent in April – the highest level since May 2023.
According to the Labor Department’s Tuesday report, the rise in inflation since the war began in February is largely due to the massive rise in prices of oil, gas and other raw materials transported through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed. In March, the first month of the war, inflation had already climbed to 3.3 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the price of gasoline rose 28 percent year-over-year, while heating oil rose 54 percent in price over the same period.
The price increases for this basic raw material have eaten through all industries that rely on transport logistics – the prices for staples such as fruit, food, drinks and household goods are rising accordingly.
White House versus reality
The White House responded to the report with its own graphic showing products that have actually become cheaper. At the top: Eggs – a sore point for the Trump administration in terms of economic policy. This is followed by smartphones, sports tickets and men’s suits. In other words, exactly the basic goods that every family needs to live.
The government’s quixotic insistence that everything is for the best is clearly not going down well with the American people. The further inflation rises, the lower Trump’s approval rating on economic issues falls. According to a CNN poll released Tuesday, Trump’s disapproval rating on the economy reached a high of 70 percent between April 30 and May 4. A separate Associated Press-NORC poll in April found a similar result: 76 percent of respondents disapproved of the president’s handling of the cost of living.
While Americans are struggling, the president is busy posting AI crap on Truth Social and sending his transportation secretary on luxury road trips – while the rest of the country struggles with skyrocketing gas prices. On Tuesday morning, Trump fantasized about printing his face on the hundred-dollar bill. In case his voters forget who drove the economy into the wall the next time they go to the gas pump.
