If you pay any attention to the “mainstream media,” you know they’ve spent months crowing, “the inflation is coming! The inflation is coming!” This, they say, is all because of Donald Trump’s unprecedented tariff policies—you know, the ones where he’s trying to even a playing field that has been out of whack for decades.
The only problem for the “sky is falling” crowd? Inflation is staying under control, and keeps coming in “below expectations.” When was the last time the “expectations” turned out to be right?
As RedState’s Joe Cunningham reported Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index “delivered mixed but ultimately encouraging news for American families, with core inflation undershooting expectations for the fifth straight month…”
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released seasonally adjusted numbers from the producer price index, and even CNBC had to admit that the news was positive:
The producer price index, a measure of wholesale costs, showed no change in June, against the forecast for a 0.2% increase. The same was true for the core PPI.
Though the numbers for headline and core wholesale inflation were subdued, final demand goods prices rose 0.3%, but were offset by a 0.1% fall in services.
Combined with Tuesday’s consumer price index release, the data suggests that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are indicating only a marginal bite on the U.S. economy.
Drink that in, naysayers: “Donald Trump’s tariffs are indicating only a marginal bite on the U.S. economy.”
JUST IN — Wholesale prices were flat in June, coming in below economists' expectations: "That is all very good news. These numbers are less than expectations. They're sequentially less." pic.twitter.com/mVTC6S91y9
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 16, 2025
READ MORE: Latest Inflation Report Offers Hopes for Rate Cut, Beats Month-Over-Month Expectation
'When You Made a Mistake…': Billionaire Home Depot Founder Does 180 on Trump's Tariffs, Presidency
HEADLINE US PPI (Price Producers Index) COMES IN COOLER THAN EXPECTED
— Samsolid (@samsolid57) July 16, 2025
June PPI (MoM)
0.0% vs 0.2% est
June PPI (YoY)
2.3% vs 2.5% est
Here come the "POWELL NEEDSE TO CUT" Trump truth social posts... pic.twitter.com/rT2tmBjT0M
The dual reports will almost certainly only increase President Trump’s dissatisfaction with Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, who has steadfastly refused to lower interest rates despite the good inflation numbers and Trump’s threats to fire him if he doesn’t take action.
7/ Tariffs will be highly inflationary.
— Oguz O. | 𝕏 Capitalist 💸 (@thexcapitalist) May 22, 2025
Fed Chair already explained this in his press conference.
He said tariffs are likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth and an increase in unemployment. pic.twitter.com/7SrfihlxEB
The Producer Price Index is a complicated beast:
PPI for final demand measures the prices paid to American businesses for goods and services. It includes sales to consumers, households, businesses, and foreign purchasers, a broader array of customers than is measured by the consumer price index. Although it is sometimes referred to as a “wholesale” price index, it is not an index of wholesale prices.
Goods prices rose by 0.3 percent in June but these increases were offset by a 0.1 percetn [sic] decline in the much larger services sector.
Maybe one day we’ll see a headline that says, “The numbers just came in, and they’re just as economists expected.” In the meantime:
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
Help us continue to report on the president’s economic successes and combat the lies of the Democrats. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member