President Donald Trump's tariff policy could soon create political headaches for the administration, according to a new op-ed.
On Thursday, economic data was released showing producer prices increased 3.3% over the last year, marking a three-year high. This happened at a time when the Trump administration is eager to convince Americans that its trade policies are working, which could help it distract from its mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Producer price increases eventually trickle down to consumer prices, the editorial noted.
In response to the data, Trump said during a press conference that inflation is at a "perfect number."
The conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal shredded Trump's reasoning on Thursday and warned Republicans of being in the "political danger zone."
"The producer-price data get worse the closer you look," the editorial reads. "Goods and services both experienced substantial inflation, of 0.7% and 1.1% month-on-month, respectively. Goods and services related to business investment, in particular, are becoming pricier, with the cost of manufacturing equipment rising 0.4% in one month and related services 4.5%."
Trump campaigned on a promise to lower the cost of living for Americans. However, there is scant evidence that he has accomplished that over the last 200 days in office.
"Republicans are in the political danger zone if tariffs cause price increases—one-off or persistent—that aren’t offset by bigger wage gains," the editorial board argued. "Republicans will make the same mistake as the Biden Administration if they keep telling voters everything is fabulous, but the evidence at the grocery store or Applebee’s tells them something different."