Trump's 'wildly out of touch' take on everyday prices is baffling economists - MSNBC Reports

[Rhiannon12866]

A new University of Michigan poll found consumer sentiment has hit a 3-year low, including among independents, as Trump tries to counter it with positive messaging on the economy. Co-Founder & Director of Economic Policy at Veda Partners Henrietta Treyz joins Alex Witt to discuss. - Aired on 11/08/2025.

[progree]

1. Both inflation (CPI) and core CPI have averaged a 3.6 annualized rate during the last 3 months

Last edited Sun Nov 9, 2025, 08:43 AM - Edit history (1)

It's not comforting to me at all that the last 3 months have averaged 3.6% (annualized) for both the CPI and the core CPI. The 3 month average is my favorite gauge of RECENT inflation. The 1 month number can be dismissed as a "one off", while the 12 month average (year-over-year) has too much old data in it to be considered a good measure of RECENT inflation -- half the months are March 2025 or older, for example. Four of the months are Biden-era months.

Regular CPI


More graphs at: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3552722

News report from the source: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
CPI data series: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0
CORE CPI data series: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0L1E

He harped on energy and gasoline prices at length in an extended clip I saw

Energy: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0E
Down 0.5% since January,, and Up 2.9% year-over-year (September 2025 over September 2024)

OK, he's kinda right on energy (down since January when he took office January 20), but a lot of that is a function of ever-shifting global supply and demand for oil. Most everything else is moving up in cost, but of course he cherry-picked one item that wasn't.

In the extended clip he also mentioned the inflation rate,, he says we're at 2% -- which means only one thing -- prices (on average overall) are higher now than before. Any positive number above 0% means prices are overall on average increasing. So you can't claim costs (overall) are falling or lower, while admitting to a positive inflation rate.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-hits-back-at-criticism-of-the-economy-under-his-second-administration-we-are-the-victors-on-affordability/vi-AA1Q1QQH

Unfortunately, I can't find a seasonally adjusted version of gasoline prices (a subset of energy costs)
BLS data finder - https://www.bls.gov/data/

[progree]

2. Trump: "it's far less expensive under Trump ... and the prices are way down"

Last edited Sun Nov 9, 2025, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-doubles-down-on-the-economy-despite-a-strong-rebuke-from-voters/ar-AA1Q5gC4

Trump doubles down on the economy despite a strong rebuke from voters, NBC, 11/9/25

“The reason I don’t want to talk about affordability is because everybody knows that it’s far less expensive under Trump than it was under ‘Sleepy Joe Biden,’ and the prices are way down,” he said of his predecessor in remarks to reporters last week.

but in the same clip (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-hits-back-at-criticism-of-the-economy-under-his-second-administration-we-are-the-victors-on-affordability/vi-AA1Q1QQH, admitted to a positive inflation rate (2%) -- which means only one thing -- prices (on average overall) are higher now than before.

At 0:30 in the video, speaking of inflation:

"We're down to 2%, and we'll be at maybe 1%. You want to always stay above 1%. Actually, you want a little tiny bit of inflation. We're the perfect number."

Year-over-year it's 3%, and over the last 3 months it was 3.6% at an annualized rate.

[tanyev]

3. Stop buying groceries! Just go eat all your meals in the restaurant of the club you own.

Jeez people, it's not hard.

[ChicagoTeamster]

4. Baffled? Don't they know by now he lives in an alternate reality?

Remember when he changed the course of a hurricane with a sharpie? He recently said 300 million Americans died from overdoses of drugs that came across our border. So like 90% of the population? His take on the trade imbalance and the tariff percentages he invents to counter them are all based on nonsense numbers he makes up in his head.