Trump Says US Has No Inflation as Data and Polling Show Higher Prices Before Midterms

President Donald Trump told a rally in Montana that Americans are richer and the country has no inflation, even as economic data point to higher prices ahead of the midterm elections. Trump won the 2024 presidency promising to lower inflation. Gas prices have soared over the past year, the job market has stalled, and higher interest rates have made loans and mortgages costlier. Mortgage rates have risen to levels that have depressed home sales, and filling a basic Ford F-150 truck now costs about $100, up $30 from a year ago. A Harris poll for the Guardian found nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the country is in a recession. A third said a single surprise bill could sink them financially. The data review ties the turbulence to Trump's tariffs on nearly everything the US imports, and AP reports Republicans may pay a political price in November.

Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative/independent outlets had. The Guardian US, on the left, leads with Trump's rally claim and sets it against five charts. It adds its own Harris poll on recession fears and household finances, and points to tariffs as a turning point. Its headline puts the no-inflation remark in quotation marks, framing the piece as a fact-check of the president's account. AP, in the alternative group, largely agrees on the facts but opens on the political stakes. Its headline says Trump failed to stop inflation and that Republicans may pay for it, and it leans on everyday costs such as the truck fill-up and mortgage rates.