Trump Hit With Grim Reality Check on Americans’ Pay

Politics admin July 15, 2026 0 Comments

Trump Hit With Grim Reality Check on Americans’ Pay

President Donald Trump is facing a difficult economic reality: Despite nominal wage gains, American workers’ paychecks have barely moved in real terms since he took office.

Average hourly earnings have risen by just 27 cents after adjusting for inflation since Trump returned to the White House in 2025, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

June’s 3.5 percent year-over-year wage growth was exactly matched by a 3.5 percent increase in inflation over the same period, leaving workers with little to no improvement in buying power.

That comes despite Trump’s Truth Social post Wednesday morning celebrating that inflation is “way down.”

“Great News America! The Dumocrat caused inflation is way down from what it had been, and we will bring it down still further. MAGA!”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

Americans did see a modest boost in their purchasing power in June as lower gasoline prices helped ease the cost of living slightly, according to new Labor Department data. Inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings also rose 0.8 percent from the previous month—the largest monthly increase in more than a year.

But the improvement may be short-lived, as higher prices for everyday necessities squeeze household budgets.

Costs for staples including milk and beef have climbed significantly this year, offsetting some of the wage gains many workers have received.

Energy prices are also adding another layer of pressure as fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumes following the collapse of a ceasefire. Global oil prices have surged since the conflict began, rising by about 35 percent.

As a result, any increase in earnings is going to be offset by rising prices, Betsey Stevenson, a former Labor Department chief economist and current University of Michigan professor, told The Washington Post.

“No matter what we see in the averages, there’s going to be a lot of people whose wages are simply not keeping up with inflation,” said Stevenson. “So they just can’t buy the same bundle of goods that they could have bought a year ago.”

And things could be about to get worse, with Trump’s ceasefire with Iran now effectively over after fighting kicked off again, with the U.S. carrying out more strikes on Iran on Monday night and Tehran launching strikes at U.S. regional allies.

The U.S. Central Command also restored a naval blockade of Iranian ports, a move that quickly pushed oil prices to their highest point in a month. AAA data shows gas prices have already begun climbing again after the ceasefire fell apart.

The renewed squeeze on household expenses could create political headaches for Republicans heading into the midterm elections, as voters continue to rank the cost of living among their top concerns—especially in battleground states such as Arizona.

Barrett Marson, a GOP strategist in Arizona, told The Washington Post: “If gas spikes again, Republicans are in trouble. It’s just that simple. People are going to think about their economic situation and vote accordingly, probably up and down the ballot.”