Trump Straight Up Says ‘I Love the Inflation’ When Pressed On Latest Numbers

Mediaite ^ | June 10, 2026 | Alex Griffing

[Miami Rebel]

President Donald Trump told the media on Wednesday, “I love the inflation” report that came out earlier in the morning, showing inflation had risen above 4% for the first time in three years.

“Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number, which came out this morning? Could that be a–” a reporter asked Trump during an Oval Office Q&A.

Trump cut in and answered, “No, I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love? I love the inflation.”

“You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know, I can say it now. Something you didn’t know. Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran — until right now. We took out, the other night, 22 ships, late at night, with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it,” Trump continued, adding:

We took it, that’s why oil is $85 a barrel. I mean, you take a look. Remember when I did this, I said, look, the one bad thing will be, we hit the best economy we’ve ever hit. And I said to my people, I had Scott, I had Howard, I have Pete, I had all of them. I had Todd in the room. I said, the one thing we have to do now — we had just hit the highest stock market in history, highest 401ks in history, everything was going well — and I said, I hate to do this to you guys, but Iran’s going to have a nuclear weapon very soon. We have to attack."

[Miami Rebel]

The message confusion had nothing to do with Mediaite or its headline. The article helpfully linked to the Fox clip.

“....you know mediate knew exactly what he was talking about....”

I know no such thing.

[hcmama]

"Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve completely tuned out this clown by this point."

I think we should all be able to see him for who he is now.

[cymbeline]

“Excuse me for not quite understanding what he’s trying to say.”

Me too, but underneath the bluster I think he and his team knows what they’re doing, and being ambiguous or incomprehensible is part of the strategy — maybe. We’ll see.

[Gunslingr3]

You mean finishing a war that started in 1979?

No, I don't.

But if I was going to try and find the origin of conflict between Iran and the U.S. we'd have to go back to the 1953 'regime change' operation that took out a functioning democracy because the Iranian people had the temerity to want to control the natural resources in their own borders.

Turns out interventionist foreign policy always has unintended consequences, and in this case we created fertile ground for the islamic revolution in Iran.

Which now some idiots are going to pretend we'll solve with more 'regime change' and interventions. But they'll just create a new set of problems that neocons will promise can only be solved with more intervention...

[Alberta's Child]

Great post.

Just look what happened in Syria. After the Assad regime was toppled, we had the pathetic, embarrassing spectacle of President Trump hosting a White House meeting with the new Syrian president who was the former al-Qaeda leader in Syria.

[Gunslingr3]

200 ships and 100 million barrels of oil. That why oil was in the low 80s until the chicken littles started cackling again.

First, he claims 200 commercial (not oil tankers, but counting all types) ships transited in a month.

Pre-war more than 100 ships transited per day.

100 million barrels of oil sounds like a lot, until you realize that was 5 days worth in January before Trump started this mess.

So we got out 5 days worth of oil out in 30 days. Congrats?

[bray]

So many mediots were hoping for $200/bbl oil and now it is heading for $80. This inflation is temporary and the economy is building although not being reported.

[Gunslingr3]

Just look what happened in Syria. After the Assad regime was toppled, we had the pathetic, embarrassing spectacle of President Trump hosting a White House meeting with the new Syrian president who was the former al-Qaeda leader in Syria.

Yep.

Embarrassing we had to take him off our FBI terrorist bounty list before letting him come to the White House.

I think in Syria the goal was always simply to create chaos for the Israelis to exploit (which they have, by moving into Syrian territory and bombing Syria).

[Vaduz]

Dow in more of a panic of AI taking things away.

[PeterPrinciple]

I always got A’s in comprehension.

---

That is when you look at the words. There is music that goes with the words........................

[hcmama]

True. I imagine quite a few are trying to get ahead of the curve on that one.

[Capn Hayek]

Exactly.

For the love of Mike, why do people think mimicking Potato Joe and Janet Be Yellen is going to work out any *better* this time?

It’s transient and temporary. It’s Trump’s fault. The economy is great whether you think it is or not.

The rats lost Congress in 2022 and then lost it all in 2024.

Voters didn’t buy it. You think now they’re going to buy it?

Being a principled conservative - I believe in personal responsibility and I do likewise believe it is not the government’s job to solve people’s personal problems.

But the one consistent thing in history? That’s just a terrible, terrible message.... and voters - especially the squishy middle who decide things - won’t buy it. They never have and they never will.

[piasa]

Context is everything. Headlines are always twisted.

[napscoordinator]

Wow! That is the biggest stretch I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Holy cow that must’ve broke your brain.

[Political Junkie Too]

Excuse me for not quite understanding what he’s trying to say.

Let me try... I speak "Trump."

President Trump is speaking from the perspective that oil was recently at $100+ per barrel. When Trump said:

Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran — until right now. We took out, the other night, 22 ships, late at night, with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it... We took it, that’s why oil is $85 a barrel.

Trump was pointing out that oil dropped to $85/bbl because of the recent covert military operation that flooded the market with oil, keeping inflation to just 4.2%.

Trump is treating the inflation metric as a de facto battlefield damage assessment, not just an economic statistic when you consider the following:

• Pre-war (before Feb 28): Brent crude below $70/barrel
• March 8: Oil reached $100 as Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz
• March 12: Brent hovered around $100 after Iran's new leader confirmed Hormuz would stay shut
• Late March: Brent exceeded $113, Dubai physical price hit $126
• April 29–30: Oil briefly hit $119–$120 on fears of an extended U.S. blockade
• June 9 (yesterday): Oil is hovering around $100/barrel

Oil dropped to a low of $85.95 on June 8, which is the source of Trump's "$85 a barrel" quote. He's saying that inflation have been even higher if our military hadn't been able to covertly sneak the oil tankers out of the Strait, which led to resupply of the global oil market that is keeping inflation contained until the Strait of Hormuz reopens and oil begins flowing freely again.

-PJ

[Miami Rebel]

??????

I’m as AI-skeptical as the next fellow, but the S&P’s advance from January through May was chiefly on the back of AI-mania.

Where’d you come up with this AI-panic notion?

[dforest]

Oh please, this was a really silly thing to say.

[Vaduz]

Yes the Dow has been a yoyo the past few weeks.

[dforest]

Maybe it will, But when? He has been saying this for a long time now. 2029?

[Political Junkie Too]

Furthermore...

I'm not sure if it was just 22 iranian tankers or just 22 Iranian tankers "the other night."

President Trump began by saying "You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know, I can say it now. Something you didn’t know. Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran — until right now."

It may be that 22 tankers accounts for "millions of barrels of oil," or that "the other night" was just one of several covert operations to sneak tankers out.

From AI:

A standard VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) holds roughly 2 million barrels. A smaller Aframax tanker holds around 750,000 barrels. If 22 ships were seized in one night, and that accounts for "millions of barrels," the math is consistent with smaller vessels — but if the broader program accounts for millions of barrels across multiple covert operations, the cumulative supply injection into global markets would be substantially larger and more sustained.

This sustained, covert supply injection — if accurate — would explain something that puzzled analysts: why oil has not stayed above $120 despite a Strait of Hormuz closure that Bloomberg and Wall Street analysts warned could push prices to $200/barrel. A one-time 22-tanker seizure might cause a brief price dip. A sustained covert program of millions of barrels being quietly rerouted would exert persistent downward pressure on prices, which is more consistent with oil sitting at $85 rather than $120+ right now.

-PJ