This article may contain commentary
which reflects the author’s opinion.
President Donald Trump and members of the White House are continuing to boast about inflation coming in at 2.7 percent for November, which was lower than expected. Members of the president’s administration are arguing that the U.S. economy is set to take off in 2026.
Paul Ashworth, Oxford Economics’ chief North America economist, was especially shocked by the numbers, particularly the small rise in housing costs.
“It’s possible that this does reflect a genuine drop off in inflationary pressures, but such a sudden stop, particularly in the more-persistent services components like rent of shelter is very unusual, at least outside of a recession,” he wrote in a note.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed a similar tune, saying they believe “2026 will be a great year for growth, inflation, and the American people.”
Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked, “Secretary, Scott Bessent to. There is great news on inflation, the big announcement about drug prices at the White House from the president. So I’m watching this and things are moving in the right direction. But why are Americans still so pessimistic?”
“I think 2026 will be a great year for growth, inflation and the American people that the president work for everyday. It is because the affordability crisis under the Biden Administration, there are two parts here. There is price level and then there is the inflation rate. And the price level just got out of control during the disastrous four years of Biden,” Bessent said.
“So stated consumer price index was up about 21-22 percent, the Wall Street firm has something to call the common man index which is what do working-class families by. Groceries, rent, insurance, used cars. That was up about 35%. So that big price level. Then there is the rate of change and as we saw this week, President Trump, the whole administration had been working hard to bring down the inflation level on a trailing three-month basis, inflation is now 2.2%,” he added.
“In general, we have seen the growth of jobs this year have gone to native-born Americans. Not illegals, not others,” Bessent said.
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, made similar comments during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Host Margaret Brennan asked, “That report came out. It showed America added sixty four thousand jobs with unemployment taking up to four point six percent, but we’ve seen analysis, including from the top economist at the us navy federal saying the us is in a quote: hiring recession, very few jobs being added since the spring and wage gains are. Slowing, are we in a hiring recession.”
“They’re, basically the number was about. Would the market expected? It was a number that was less with a hundred which is a little bit lower than you’d like. But then, after that, we got the consumer price index numbers which are really amazing,” Hassett said.
“And so, if you look at the three month, moving average of core super prices, they’re running at an annual rate of about one point, six percent way below the Fed’s target and my old friend all the way back to grad school asta goals. We as one of the Fed governors voting on it, shreds conceded that they should cut rates faster and that he’s going to do so. The future because of this inflation,” Hassett added.
“Moving averages were fine, so I think that the error band around the one point- six percent inflation about that’s the the pacers running- is probably pretty tight, surely will provisions, but I think the numbers are about right, and- and I- usually Margaret don’t like to go to year over year when we’re talking about what’s going on with inflation, because that includes a lot of inflation Biden months in the back in and eight or fewer viewers we get further into the year,” he added.
Hassett continued, “But but I think that the trajectory right now is best seen by the three month moving average and that’s below two below the Fed’s target. So it means the Fed, as Austin goals be said, has plenty of room to cut rate.”
