U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office as he signs the Secure America Act, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump's claim that he loves the inflation associated with his war in Iran is bad news for the average American's pocketbook, an economist said during a new CNN interview on Wednesday.
Henrietta Treyz, an economist at Veda Partners, told CNN's Boris Sanchez that there's "nothing to like" about the 4.2% inflation reading that was captured in the latest economic data released on Wednesday. That's despite Trump saying in the Oval Office that he "loves the numbers" and that inflation will "drop like a rock" once the war in Iran ends.
"The best I can say is that inflation everywhere else didn't also rise more than expected. That is not good news," Treyz said. "We're on day 104 of the war, if I'm not mistaken. We've spent $100 billion, and a lot of that is being borne by regular Americans."
Trump's war in Iran has sent global energy prices skyrocketing because of the impacts to the Strait of Hormuz, a global waterway that accounts for 20% of all energy trade. The rising cost of energy has also driven up the prices of many goods, especially gasoline and groceries.
Treyz noted that the average American household is paying about $460 more per year for gas now than it did when the war began.
"It doesn't include the groceries that are more expensive. The surcharges on all your Amazon shipments, the additional 8% cost of just shipping mail around the country. This is a massive blow," she said. "And 4.2% inflation means that inflation is moving faster than our wages are keeping up. That's the problem for the president with this war."