When President Donald Trump said “I love the inflation” earlier this week, he found out quickly he had some explaining to do.
Trump was answering a reporter’s question about the May Consumer Price Index report and said, “the numbers were great,” and “I love the inflation.”
The CPI report found prices were up over 4% annually for the first time since 2023.
Soon after Trump said those words, he found himself explaining the sound bite was taken out of context.
The president clarified his comment to the New York Post in a phone call, saying the comment was taken “out of context.”
“I love the inflation numbers because of what I’m talking about,” Trump told The Post. “The numbers are going to be phenomenal because what’s showing is that despite the fact that we’re in a war, the numbers are much lower than anticipated, and when we’re out of that war, the numbers will be at lower numbers than they were even before it started.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sided with Trump, per NBC News, that the comment had been taken “totally out of context.”
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Trump was in the Oval Office on June 10 when he made the comment.
Democrats shared the sound bite hoping to make high prices a focal point in the midterm elections.
Trump was asked whether he was worried about the Labor Department’s latest CPI, which came out earlier that day.
“No, I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why?” Trump said. “Because as soon as this war is over ‒ you know, I can say it now, something you didn’t know.”
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Trump added he had been taking millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz without Iran realizing it.
He posted on Truth Social he had conducted a “secret mission” to move more than 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait.
Oil and gas prices have soared since the war in Iran started.
The Strait of Hormuz which serves as a chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil.
The Labor Department’s CPI report for May, released June 10, showed prices rose 0.5% from April to May and 4.2% year over year. It’s the steepest increase in three years, USA Today reported.
