Trump Dealt Crushing Blow by Brutal Affordability Report
The new Consumer Price Index is the final one before the midterms.
Evan Vucci/Reuters
Inflation surged hotter than expected in September, the latest data shows, delivering Donald Trump an ugly blow heading into the midterms.
Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent last month from a year ago, up from 3.4 percent in August and above the 3.6 percent year-over-year many economists expected.
Prices increased 0.6 percent in September, an acceleration from the 0.4 percent increase in August.
The Consumer Price Index released on Wednesday was the final one before Election Day in less than three weeks.
President Donald Trump held a rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska on October 13.
Evan Vucci/REUTERS
It comes as the president has been crisscrossing the country, insisting affordability is a hoax cooked up by Democrats, as voters signal that rising prices and their struggles to make ends meet are the top issue in the election.
The report showed that Americans’ annual wages are not keeping up with soaring prices for the third month in a row. In September, annual earnings rose just 3 percent, while inflation was 3.6 percent.
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The Daily Beast asked the White House for reaction to the latest report.
Rising energy costs, fueled by Trump’s war in Iran, have largely driven soaring inflation and driven up gas prices. Gas prices rose 9.1 percent in September alone, accounting for more than half the monthly increase.
That was a massive acceleration from August, when gas prices rose 3.9 percent. Gas prices are up more than 34 percent from a year ago.
Fuel oil also rose more than 15 percent last month, bringing the total increase to more than 74 percent from one year ago.
Housing costs also rose slightly in September, up 0.4 percent last month after rising 0.3 percent in August. Housing prices are up 3.2 percent from a year ago.
At his latest rally in Alaska on Tuesday, Trump bragged that the stock market was up and poverty was down, insisting the economy was strong.
“I mean what the hell else do I have to say?” Trump slammed his critics. “Then you hear about them, ‘affordability.’ Just stupid people.”
Trump argued at the rally that the higher energy costs were a “small price to pay” when it came to his war in Iran.
But the latest CPI comes after the latest jobs report, released earlier this month, showed the U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs last month, well below economists’ expectations.
It was the final jobs report before Election Day and signaled a continued economic slowdown, as job growth has weakened since the president took office.
Wednesday’s inflation report also increased the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates after an initial hike in mid-September.
While that decision does not hinge on one report alone, after the report came out, the probability of a hike at the next meeting at the end of the month ticked up among traders.
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