Inflation is never coming down

Last week, Donald Trump joked that $5,000 could at most buy you a hamburger and "maybe a small dessert" at Mar-a-Lago. "It's not a good place if you're price conscious," he said about his Florida beach club. It was a typically tone-deaf comment. The price of beef is a particular sore spot for Americans, since it is a key ingredient in the fast food that defines the American way of life, and its price has soared by 22% since Trump took office last year.

When he was re-elected in 2024, Trump promised to bring down prices; instead, he raised them with his tariffs and his ill-fated war in Iran. The inflation rate, which had been running at 3% when he took office, is now approaching 4%. No wonder Trump's Republican Party suffered a crushing defeat in Tuesday's mid-term elections, in large part due to the nation's worsening cost-of-living crisis. This week, even his own past supporters turned on him.