Overview
- Official CPI data show headline inflation at 3.0% in January and 3.0% in September, unchanged over that span and up from a 2.3% low in April.
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted inflation has slowed to 2.5%, later pointing to an eight‑month average or annualized pace, while CNN noted the simple average of those months is about 2.7%.
- A White House social graphic contrasted a single‑month 9.1% peak under Biden with a multi‑month Trump average of 2.7%, a comparison fact‑checkers called apples‑to‑oranges.
- Kaitlan Collins of CNN and Nancy Cordes of CBS pressed Leavitt on the figures during a televised briefing, prompting on‑air fact‑checks and a sharp back‑and‑forth that drew wide media and social media reaction.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cited new tariffs as a key driver of the recent pickup in goods prices, as the administration selectively exempted some foods from country‑specific tariffs to ease grocery costs.