Consumers aren’t buying Trump’s inflation lies

One month into his presidency, and Donald Trump has failed on many of his promises—including inflation. In fact, new data suggests that many Americans—especially Democrats and independents—expect inflation to persist well into the future.

Results from the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers show that U.S. consumer expectations of long-term inflation have reached the highest level in 30 years, and that consumers believe that, because of Trump’s tariffs and economic policies, inflation will rise by 3.5% every year for the next two decades.

In January, the data showed that consumer sentiment dropped from 71.7% to 64.7%, and that economic conditions dropped even more, with a 12.5% decrease.

“They exhibit substantial uncertainty, particularly in light of policy changes under the new presidential administration,” the report said. 

But there’s one caveat: Views on the economy are highly partisan. 

The data showed that Democrats and independents were more concerned about the direction of the economy and more likely to make negative predictions about it, while Republicans were more confident in long-term consumer expectations.

Inflation increased again in January, and consumer prices followed, increasing by 0.5% since December. According to the Consumer Price Index, U.S. prices have been spiking at the fastest pace since August 2023.  

Even Trump admits that inflation is back, though he continues to blame it on former President Joe Biden. 

“Inflation is back. I’m only here for two and a half weeks. I had nothing to do with it,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. 

So much for Trump’s promise that “when I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1.” 

Despite his assurances that he could swiftly curb inflation, consumer sentiment tells a different story. Meanwhile, food prices, particularly the cost of eggs, continue to rise. 

"Eggs. I'm hearing so much about eggs. You'll figure it out. You gotta figure something out fast. And we inherited all the problems ... The big things, really, we can blame other people for,” Trump said during a White House event on Friday.

If Trump wants to convince the public that his policies will ease inflation, he’ll have to do more than just shift the blame to past administrations.

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