Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume reportedly delivered a pointed message to President Donald Trump this week, urging him to confront the nation’s persistent inflation challenges directly rather than minimize the financial strain facing American households ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump has insisted that he inherited an inflation crisis from former President Joe Biden and argued that his administration has begun reversing what he described as years of economic mismanagement. He pointed to cooling inflation, rising real wages, and what he called “the first overall price decline since 2020” as evidence that his policies are working. But Hume cautioned that even with improving metrics, voters still feel the cumulative burden of elevated prices.
Appearing on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Hume said that political and economic realities demand a straightforward acknowledgment from the president. “The best thing the president can do is to let people know that he recognizes that, for some, prices are too high and remain that way, and he’s sorry about that,” Hume told Baier. He added that the public needs to hear that Trump “will do everything he can to try to ameliorate the problem. What you don’t do is to pretend it isn’t there.”
Hume suggested that the path forward lies not only in easing prices but in strengthening the overall economy so that workers’ earnings can keep pace with rising costs. “The administration can hope that we’ll have some growth in the economy that may help to boost wages and make these prices more affordable, not because they’re coming down so much, as people are better able to pay for them,” Hume said. “And that’s the way it usually works over time.”
Even as he credited Trump with contending with an inherited economic mess, Hume acknowledged the political risk inflation still poses. “But this is kind of a devilish problem because the problem really was created in the previous administration, and it is hard to undo that. And so I think it’s going to be an issue in the midterms,” he said.
Recent economic data underscores both the progress and the ongoing challenges. In May, it was reported that Trump had reached a milestone when the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index dropped to its lowest level in four years, the strongest inflation reading since March 2021. The Commerce Department noted that consumer spending nevertheless continued to edge higher in April, fueled mainly by rising housing and health care costs.
But late summer brought a new uptick. The PCE price index climbed 0.3 percent in August and 2.7 percent year-over-year, while core PCE rose 2.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The numbers were largely in line with expectations but reflected stubborn inflationary pressures, even as overall price growth has fallen from its pandemic highs.
Economists warn that with inflation fluctuating sharply throughout the year, the Federal Reserve will need the most current data possible ahead of its December meeting. That requires the Labor Department’s statistical agencies—whose operations were suspended during the recent shutdown—to prioritize the release of employment and inflation reports for November.
For Trump, Hume’s advice reflects a broader truth: economic indicators may be improving, but political leadership still requires convincing Americans that their concerns are seen, understood, and being addressed with urgency.
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