On Thursday’s episode of The Alex Marlow Show, the Breitbart editor-in-chief pointed out something that many viewers and economists alike were forced to reckon with: President Trump called his shot—and he was right.
The president’s prime-time address Wednesday night wasn’t just a policy update or campaign rally by another name. It was, in hindsight, a well-calculated move—a head-fake to the legacy media, who spent hours frantically “fact-checking” what turned out to be verifiably true less than 12 hours later.
At the center of the storm? Inflation.
Economists and media pundits had widely expected November’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report to show an uptick in inflation, with most forecasts placing the number above 3%. But on Thursday morning, the Department of Labor reported a 2.7% year-over-year increase—the lowest reading since March 2021 and a clear sign that “Bidenflation” may finally be in the rearview.
Trump knew that. And he told the American people before the numbers were public.
Of course, this didn’t stop the usual suspects from mocking, undermining, and doubting. Legacy media outlets launched a last-minute blitz to discredit Trump’s claims about economic progress. Many tried blaming Trump-era tariffs for inflation—again—despite the data showing that tariff-impacted goods like appliances and vehicles saw minimal price increases.
In fact, core goods rose just 1.4%, with apparel up only 0.2%, and durable goods up 1.5%. So much for the “tariffs are ruining us” narrative.
Meanwhile, real wages are rising. Private sector weekly earnings are up 3.5% over the past year, outpacing inflation by nearly a full percentage point. Blue-collar wages rose 4.2%, giving a 1.5% real wage gain. These aren’t just numbers—they represent a tangible improvement in the average American’s purchasing power, something critics of Trump’s policies said was impossible.
But rather than acknowledging this, many in the commentariat immediately questioned the validity of the data. Why? Because it didn’t support their ongoing narrative that Trump’s policies are economically toxic. They blamed the October-November government shutdown, engineered by Democrats, for “data distortions” and “imputations.” But those same analysts had access to the same information before the CPI was released. They made their forecasts with full knowledge of the limitations—and still got it wrong.
Even if we zoom in on indexes less likely to be impacted by the data disruptions, the story doesn’t change: core goods less food, energy, and used cars rose just 1.1%, while services excluding shelter were up 3.5%, the slowest increase in nearly seven months.
And then there’s the rhetorical sleight of hand: when inflation is high, it’s Trump’s fault for “trade wars.” When it drops, it’s a “quirk in the data” or “holiday discounting.” The rules of Trump coverage are simple—he’s always wrong, even when he’s right.
Yet the data speaks for itself. And this time, the numbers tell a story of economic progress—not narrative manipulation. In a media environment still largely hostile to Trump, these results are inconvenient facts.
As Marlow noted, Trump teased a potential military escalation in Venezuela—a misdirection that got eyes on the speech. But what he really delivered was a reminder that results speak louder than rhetoric. That’s a problem for the professional skeptics who’ve made careers out of doubting his every word.
So yes, inflation has cooled. Yes, real wages are up. And yes, the people who’ve been screaming about economic collapse under Trump now find themselves ignoring, discrediting, or hand-waving away data that doesn’t suit their agenda.
