Fact check: Trump says Democrats don’t talk about affordability anymore (they do) because inflation is over (it isn’t)

President Donald Trump tried Tuesday to concoct an alternative reality on the subject of “affordability” – piling lie on top of lie to try to convince Americans that the issue has vanished.

“You know, inflation we’ve solved; it’s done,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News during a trip to Iowa. “We have it good where prices are coming way down. They were just saying, in Iowa the fuel is $1.95. Did you hear that? Somebody said $1.85. But it was $3.50, $4.50 just a year ago, a year and a half ago. You look at eggs, you look at groceries, it’s all down. Everything’s come down. Do you notice they don’t mention affordability anymore?”

It is true that egg prices have fallen significantly under Trump. The rest of his narrative was thoroughly inaccurate.

Inflation is not over; prices continue to rise. Overall prices have gone up, not down. Overall grocery prices have gone up, not down. Iowa’s average gas price is much higher than $1.95. And Democrats have certainly not stopped mentioning affordability; in fact, it remains a key focus of their public remarks.

Let’s look at these five claims one by one.

Inflation continues: Inflation isn’t “done.” Price increases continue. In December 2025, overall prices were up 0.3% from November 2025 and up 2.7% from December 2024, Consumer Price Index figures show. Trump is free to describe this as moderate inflation, but it’s simply wrong to say inflation is over.

Overall prices are up, not down: It’s not true that “everything’s come down.” Overall consumer prices have increased during this presidential term; in December 2025, seasonally adjusted overall prices were 2.2% higher than they were in January 2025, and, again, 2.7% higher than they were in December 2024. Trump could accurately say that some individual products have gotten cheaper, but far more products have gotten more expensive.

Grocery prices are up, not down: It’s not true that “you look at groceries, it’s all down.” In fact, the 0.7% increase in the Consumer Price Index for groceries between November 2025 and December 2025 was the biggest month-to-month jump reported in more than three years. That number might have been affected by data collection issues related to the fall government shutdown, but regardless, CPI data clearly shows overall grocery prices are more expensive than they were when Trump took office – up 1.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis since January 2025, the month of his second inauguration. And while there have been declines in the price of eggs and a smattering of other grocery items, there have been increases in many more.

Iowa gas prices are generally much higher than Trump said: Trump claimed gas is “$1.95” in Iowa. But the state average gas price on Tuesday was $2.57 per gallon, according to data published by AAA – down from $2.94 per gallon a year prior to Tuesday, not “$3.50, $4.50.” There were some Iowa gas stations selling for around $1.95 per gallon on Tuesday, but they were few and far between. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told CNN that GasBuddy found just four stations in the state selling for $1.97 per gallon (aside from special discounts) out of 2,036 total stations the firm tracks, so 0.19% of the total.

In an unusual moment, Trump was fact-checked on this subject by an attendee at his Iowa speech on Tuesday. When he spoke of gas in Iowa being $1.95 or $1.85 per gallon, someone in the crowd shouted, “No, $2.63,” according to CNN’s Steve Contorno, who was on scene. Contorno saw that the gas station right outside the venue where Trump spoke was selling for $2.69 per gallon.

Though immigration has been a focus of national news and commentary in recent weeks amid Trump’s enforcement blitz in Minneapolis, it’s simply not true that Democrats have stopped mentioning affordability.

The Democratic National Committee has emphasized affordability in multiple press releases. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have made affordability the focus of various recent public remarks. And Democratic midterm candidates and elected officials have continued to prioritize the issue.

Here are a few of the many examples.

After promising in her inaugural address in mid-January to “work relentlessly to make life more affordable for our fellow Virginians,” Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger immediately signed a series of executive orders on affordability. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill denounced an “affordability crisis” in her inaugural address last week, saying “I’m going to spend every minute trying to make New Jersey more affordable,” and signed executive orders on the subject during the speech itself. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised in his January 1 inaugural address to “make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again,” and he went on to repeat policy pledges aimed at the cost of child care, rent and public transit; he too has signed affordability-related orders in his first month in office.

In mid-January, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a slate of policy proposals focused on housing affordability. Schumer promised to release affordability proposals in other areas like groceries and energy, and he said: “Every day, every week, every month this year, Democrats will put costs front and center on our agenda.”