‘I love the inflation!’: Trump shrugs off rising prices — here’s what you can do before inflation eats into your savings

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows on June 10 when he declared, "I love the inflation," while discussing the latest inflation report and the ongoing conflict involving Iran (1). At the time, the May Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed prices had jumped 4.2% from a year earlier — the biggest annual increase since April 2023.

Trump was still feeling pretty good about inflation the following month. On July 17, after the June CPI showed consumer prices had fallen 0.4% from the previous month, he called the numbers "such great news," pointing to what he described as the biggest monthly drop in more than six years (2).

Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one

JPMorgan sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Get your free guide from Priority Gold

The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes

But the latest numbers tell a somewhat less rosy story. The July CPI, released Aug. 12, showed prices were up 3.4% from a year earlier (3). Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, rose 3.7% over the same period (4). Both are still well above the Fed's 2% target.

That's a far cry from the 9.1% inflation rate Americans were dealing with in June 2022. But there's an important catch: Prices haven't gone back to where they were before the pandemic, either. Since January 2020, the overall CPI has climbed by roughly 29%, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI data (5).