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** Claims by Trump and Democrats About Consumer Prices Don’t Tell the Whole Story
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In mid-July, President Donald Trump and top Democrats offered their accounting of the Trump administration’s impact so far on inflation and prices.

“The economy is roaring, business confidence is soaring, incomes are up, prices are down and inflation is dead,” Trump said at a July 14 luncheon.

Meanwhile, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters, “Costs aren’t going down in the United States of America, costs are going up.”

FactCheck.org writers Alan Jaffe and Saranac Hale Spencer looked at the most recent data and spoke to experts about the claims from both sides. They found that the White House and Democratic leaders cherry-pick data, while sometimes wrongly taking credit for lower prices or falsely casting blame for rising costs.

Based on the Consumer Price Index, the inflation rate was 2.7% for the 12 months ending in June, and rose 0.8% from January to June -- contrary to Trump’s claim that “inflation is dead.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI for groceries rose from January to June by 0.6%. “Grocery prices have been accelerating,” Ernie Tedeschi, of Yale University’s Budget Lab, told Alan. But “a little bit of grocery inflation is typical, and it’s not clear that the president has much to do with recent grocery price dynamics,” he said.

The average price for a dozen grade A white eggs paid by consumers fell 23.8% from January to June, according to BLS data -- contradicting Jeffries’ suggestion that all “costs are going up.”

“Most of the decline in egg prices this year was due to bird flu season ending,” explained Jeremy Horpedahl, an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas.

The price of ground beef hit a record high in June, increasing 11.1% since January, according to BLS data. That economic news prompted Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan to lay the blame on Trump. But like egg prices, factors that have caused the rise in beef prices – including drought conditions that reduced the cattle herd in the Plains and Midwest – began years ago.

As for prices at the pump, the average retail price of gasoline has stayed largely the same since Trump took office, though the cost now is relatively low for summer.

The reasons for the rise or fall of prices usually involve factors beyond the policies implemented in the first six months of the current administration, experts told Alan and Sara, and predictions of success or failure of those policies, including tariffs, are yet to be determined.

For more, read the full story: “Are Prices Up or Down? Parsing Misleading Claims by Trump and Democrats ([link removed]) .”
HOW WE KNOW
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has made unfounded suggestions that seed oils in infant formula are harmful to infants. But these vegetable oils are standard infant formula ingredients that provide necessary fatty acids. Experts told us that there’s “no scientific concern” about seed oils in infant formula and that there’s “no evidence at present” formula would be healthier without seed oils. Studies in adults show that these oils can have health benefits. Read more: “FDA Commissioner Spreads Unsubstantiated Concerns About Seed Oils in Baby Formula ([link removed]) .”
FEATURED FACTS
In 2024, the U.S. exported $666.7 billion in goods and services to the European Union, while it imported more than $815.1 billion — producing a trade deficit of roughly $148.4 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The U.S. regularly has a trade surplus in services with the EU but a larger deficit in goods. Trump had threatened to impose a 30% U.S. tariff on imported goods from the EU, but he announced a deal on July 27 for a 15% tariff on most imports from the 27 EU nations. Read more: “Trump’s Misleading Justification for Higher Tariffs on Imports of EU Goods ([link removed]) .”
WORTHY OF NOTE
Glenn Kessler started doling out Pinocchios as the Washington Post's Fact Checker in 2011, and this week he wrote ([link removed]) his last article for the paper, saying he was taking a voluntary buyout.

We've always viewed Glenn, and other fact-checkers, as colleagues more so than competitors. Our motto has been: the more the merrier. Back in 2007, when The Fact Checker feature first launched, we encouraged ([link removed]) our readers to "give it a try."

Glenn's work was admirable. This year, he won ([link removed]) the Nellie Bly Award for Investigative Reporting, which recognizes "journalism that exposes abuses of power and upholds the principles of truth, accountability, and transparency."

Fact-checking certainly does that. This form of public service journalism is needed now more than ever. Glenn said in an interview ([link removed]) with Indicator that the executive editor of the Washington Post "appeared to be interested in keeping The Fact Checker going in some form." Here's hoping the Post does that soon.

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK
We've been using videos on our social media platforms to address claims we have fact-checked before. For instance, on July 27 in Scotland, Trump repeated his false claim that wind energy is "the most expensive form of energy." We wrote ([link removed]) about this last year. This week, we used updated data to produce this vertical video on the president's statement.

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