IT’S NOTHING LIKE IT WAS UNDER BIDEN, BUT INFLATION STILL VEXES TRUMP.
asserted
INFLATION → ’ → TRUMP
On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new numbers for inflation in September, and the news is politically terrible for Republicans.
asserted
news → release → Republicans
It’s bad for all Americans, of course, but politically terrible for the GOP.
asserted
It → ’ → GOP
The government said inflation rose by 3.7% on an annual basis in September.
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inflation → say → September
Energy accounted for most of that increase, with the price of gasoline leading the way.
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price → account → way
Democrats were quick to pounce, of course.
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Democrats → pounce → course
Pete Buttigieg, one of the leading candidates for 2028 who is now perhaps the party’s most energetic 2026 surrogate, posted this: “Inflation is up again.
asserted
Inflation → lead → this
It really is this simple: Republicans took over, and then drove up the cost of living in America.
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Republicans → take → America
Of course it is much more complicated than that, and not least because it ignores the terrible 9.1% inflation that Joe Biden inflicted on the nation.
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Biden → ignore → nation
Looking at overall inflation, when President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the annual rate stood at 3%.
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rate → look → %
Trump was elected to make it go down, and he has not done that.
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he → elect → that
There are other contributors, but the main reason for continued inflation now is the energy prices that have increased because of the war in Iran.
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that → be → Iran
The president does not dispute that but instead argues, as he did Tuesday night at a campaign event in Alaska, that higher gas and diesel costs are a “small price to pay for stopping [Iran] from having a nuclear weapon.”
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costs → dispute → weapon
At other times, Trump has argued that higher prices are “peanuts” when compared to the benefit of stopping the Iranian nuclear program.
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prices → argue → program
“We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said back in May, in the war’s third month.
uncertain
he → let → month
“You want to see the world exploded?
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world → want → ?
You want to see a problem?
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You → want → problem
This is peanuts, and I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while.”
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everybody → appreciate → while
After months in which he predicted the war would end very quickly, Trump has taken to saying he expects it to last until just after the midterm elections.
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it → predict → elections
Then there will be rapid improvement, he promised Tuesday night in Alaska.
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he → promise → Alaska
“That war is going to end very soon,” he said, “and when it does, your prices are going to come tumbling down.
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prices → go → ?
But it’s not going to happen in time to save Republican candidates on the ballot across the country.
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it → go → country
Trump’s job approval rating for handling inflation stands at 27.4%, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
uncertain
rating → handle → polls
That’s a mind-bogglingly low number.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
(Trump’s job approval rating for handling the entire economy is 34.2%, which is also distressingly low for Republicans.)
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which → handle → Republicans
Put it all together, and it is a predictor of trouble ahead for the GOP.
asserted
it → put → GOP
One last, small hope for Republicans was that they might be able to argue in the final few weeks of the campaign that inflation was moving in the right direction.
uncertain
inflation → argue → direction
The Aporia
