Inflation eased in June, but Americans still feel pressure from high prices

Geoff Bennett:

We're shifting our focus now back to today's cost of living report, which showed inflation easing more than expected last month.

It's welcome news for President Trump, who has made lowering prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump a central focus of his economic agenda. Even so, months of higher-than-expected inflation have continued to squeeze many American households and raised questions about when consumers will feel meaningful relief.

To help unpack what today's report means and the political pressure the president faces over the cost of living, we're joined now by our White House correspondent, Liz Landers.

So, Liz, let's dive deeper into this report. What does it say about grocery and gas prices?

Liz Landers:

So this report is relief for some consumers last month, mostly on items like gas and clothes. This was the largest monthly drop that we have seen actually in four years.

And President Trump celebrated this earlier today.

President Donald Trump:

Inflation is way down. That means prices are coming way down and we're doing a great job. Remember that for the midterms, I say to that camera. Remember that, because nobody else could do it. Prices are way down. Prices are coming way down, and we're going to bring them much lower yet.

Liz Landers:

However, I also spoke earlier today with Phil Lempert. He's known as the Supermarket Guru, and he says that the Consumer Price Index is a little bit misleading because of shrinkflation. So the price per unit of what people are paying is not really dropping.

Lempert offered a bit of a reality check on some of these grocery store prices.

Phil Lempert (Founder and CEO, Supermarket Guru):

What we're seeing is huge price increases on meat, on steak. Ground beef is the highest that it's ever been, $7.61 a pound nationally. And for a lot of people, protein is very important. We're protein crazy right now in this country. So we're consuming more protein.

What we're seeing, products that are flat, pork, chicken, just a little bit. The big savior for a lot of people is, the price of eggs have come down considerably from where they were before.

Liz Landers:

Lempert also noted that if the Iran war continues, prices will probably continue to rise because so much in this country moves around on trucks, which guzzle gas.

He also noted that prices are still up 25 percent from the pandemic. Everything from bread to the packaging that food comes in is also more expensive because of that long tail of tariffs that are still driving prices up.

Geoff Bennett:

And when it comes to the president, he's not just celebrating lower inflation. He's also publicly pressuring retailers to cut prices, and then claiming credit when they do.

Liz Landers:

Yes, this has been happening now for a while. He's been talking about this in TRUTH Social posts, also mentioning this in speeches and comments that he's giving.

Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Agriculture Department actually called Walmart and told them to lower beef prices. You heard that those beef prices are quite high. Walmart is the country's largest grocery, and they said they were already planning to drop prices, and then they did.

Now, the president, he claimed victory from this online. He has also been threatening gas companies and gas stations too. He said in a TRUTH Social post recently that there would be big problems if they don't comply. He even suggested the price per gallon at $2.50 that retailers should set guy gas prices at.

Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, said that this is not common at all for presidents to do something like this. And he also said that this is a bit misguided for the president and the administration to do this, because retailers don't really control these prices. The manufacturers do.

Geoff Bennett:

So, Liz, one company the White House has highlighted is this regional gas station chain called Freedom Fuel, which has been selling gas well below the national average. What more do you know about the company and the White House's connection to it?

Liz Landers:

Well, the White House and the president have both been touting this. The White House put out a slickly produced video with people at the pump thanking the president for the lower gas prices there.

As you mentioned, the prices are significantly cheaper. Last week, they were selling gas for $3.47 cents. They said that the 47 was in honor of the 47th president, Mr. Trump. That is about 50 cents cheaper than the average price of gas in Pennsylvania last week.

But we don't know a whole lot about this company. We know that they're registered in Delaware. And they have a Web site that they have put up now, and it has a pointed message on the Web site about media speculation and about misinformation spreading about their brand. They say that they are privately owned, Geoff.

Geoff Bennett:

Do we know how long this company has been in existence?

Liz Landers:

The Philadelphia Inquirer did some great kind of on-the-ground reporting about this and said that they applied for their trademark on July 1, and there's no evidence that this company existed prior to that.

I reached out to the White House to ask if there is any connection between the White House and this brand. A White House official told me that the administration is not involved in the company, nor has the administration given the company any funding.

This official also touted it and said this retailer is taking the lead and others should follow. I reached out to an attorney that is listed for Freedom Fuel Networks on their trademark online. Anna Vishev e-mailed us back and said that she is not authorized to release any more information beyond what is publicly listed on the trademark office Web site.

Geoff Bennett:

More questions on that front, for sure.

Thank you for that reporting, Liz. We appreciate it.

Liz Landers:

Of course.