June 11, 2026

"I Love the Inflation."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: “Inflation accelerated in May as rising energy costs contributed to pain for consumers, though underlying pressures were less intense. The consumer price index, a broad gauge of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Both numbers were in line with the Dow Jones consensus though the monthly number was 0.1 percentage point below the April reading. Inflation climbed above 4% for the first time in three years, though the increase met expectations amid concerns over how much the surge in energy prices would impact the economy. The level was the highest since April 2023 and above the 3.8% reading from April.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might think this would alarm Trumpolini. After all, he won re-election is 2024 largely because of voters' concerns about inflation & the rising cost of living. In fact, Trump continued to blame President Biden for inflation right into 2026. So he's unnerved by May's numbers, amIrite? Nope. ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Mangan of CNBC: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday said, 'I love the inflation' after being asked if he was concerned about new consumer price index data that showed the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, a three-year high. Trump, speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, also predicted that inflation is 'going to come down like a rock' after the United States’ war against Iran is over.... 'No, I love it, the numbers were great,' Trump said.... 'You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why?' Trump said. 'Because as soon as this war is over, you know I can say it now ... you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil.... Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now,' Trump said. 'We took out the other night, 22 ships, late at night, with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it,' the president said. 'That’s why oil is at $85 a barrel.... We’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night,' Trump said.

“It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by 'taking out' oil and ships, and how that related to consumer prices.... Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was testifying at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, said that he was not aware of the U.S. taking millions of barrels out of Iran....” MB: Then he forced himself to his feet and unsteadily wandered out of the Oval Office singing, “I'm always chasing rainbows....” I give up. (Also linked yesterday.)

Courtenay Brown & Neil Irwin of Axios: "A year's worth of inflation-adjusted wage gains vanished in just four months, leaving workers little better off than when ... [Donald] Trump returned to office.... The reversal shows how the recent energy-driven inflation surge is eating into household purchasing power. Real pay for rank-and-file workers is up just 0.1% since Trump took office in January 2025. Rising real wages helped underpin the White House's case that the economy was improving. That advantage has now largely disappeared." 

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Inflation? What Inflation? Tyler Monroe of Media Matters: “As of 2 p.m. ET on June 10, Fox News has spent less than 30 seconds discussing rising inflation, with only a brief headline read appearing on America's Newsroom, according to a Media Matters review. Anchor Bill Hemmer during the headline described the highest inflation since April of 2023 as 'not what we want, but it is in line with expectations.' Later, Outnumbered aired live coverage of Trump speaking to press in the Oval Office, but the Fox panel did not offer commentary on the president’s announcement that 'I love the inflation' in response to questions about the report.”  

Marie: During that same press availability where Trump declared his love for inflation, he got to talking about Maine's Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner. Trump complained that Platner wasn't a real businessman because his parents had given him seed money for his business (like Trump, whose parents gave him millions & kept bailing him out to the tune of about $400 million). Trump complained about Platner's treatment of women (unlike Trump, Platner is not an adjudicated rapist & felon convicted of 34 sex-related crimes -- dozens of women have accused Trump of sexually attacking them). Trump concluded that Platner was a "thug" -- an accusation he repeated several times -- and was a "pig." a "bad guy"and a "loser" who was "worse than any human being that's ever run for office." The basis for Trump's conclusion was that he believed Platner had done things that Trump himself has done, but worse. Here's part of what Trump said:

     ~~~ Marie: Just to put a ribbon on the irony of Trump's critique of Platner, Trump made these remarks about Platner on the same day that the NYT published a blockbuster story about the administration's all-hands-on-deck conspiracy to cover up Trump's relationship with Epstein & Trump's alleged sexual abuse of a young woman. Meeting in the Situation Room (a secure facility normally reserved for discussions of national security matters), Trump's team -- including JayDee, Susie Wiles, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, Kash Patel & Dan Bongino -- discussed emails sent to a journalist by Epstein survivor Sarah Ransome. Ransome “claimed that she knew a girl in Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring named Jen, who said she had sex with Trump. Ransome also claimed that Jen had told her that Trump had a predilection for nipples and that he had aggressively flicked and sucked hers. Ransome wrote that she had seen evidence when she shared a bathroom with Jen. 'They looked incredibly painful as they were red and swollen and I remember wincing when I looked at them,' she wrote.” More on Platner linked below.

Dustin Volz & Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Hopes were fading on Wednesday for a breakthrough in Congress to salvage a warrantless surveillance law before its expiration this weekend, after ... [Donald] Trump dug in on naming a close ally [-- Bill Pulte --] who has alienated members of both parties to a top intelligence post. Unless lawmakers act by midnight on Friday, the law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, will sunset. It is the legal underpinning for what is widely considered to be the most powerful surveillance tool the federal government has at its disposal, credited with generating intelligence that thwarts terror plots, defangs foreign hackers, curtails drug trafficking and gleans key insights for policymakers about chief rivals like China and Russia....  Congress has already punted on the issue twice this year, and efforts to do so a third time failed in the Senate on Wednesday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump wants Pulte on the job -- even though he is entire unqualified for a job that by law requires an intelligence or security background -- to rig the midterm elections, and that is more important to him than "thwarting terror plots" or "curtailing drug traffiking," etc. ~~~

     ~~~ "Today Is Your Last Day." Pulte Tried to Muscle Gabbard Out. Marc Caputo of Axios: "Tulsi Gabbard, the outgoing director of national intelligence, got an unexpected call Tuesday from her controversial successor, Bill Pulte: 'Today is your last day,' he said. Gabbard was surprised. She had announced she was leaving at month's end, not Tuesday. 'I need to hear it from the president or the White House,' Gabbard told Pulte.... After the conversation with Pulte, Gabbard got ahold of Trump, who didn't request her immediate resignation. 'What day works best for you?' the president asked, according to one of the sources. Gabbard said June 19, and Trump then posted a statement on his Truth Social account announcing her new exit date.... Gabbard's new departure date was a partial win for Pulte; Gabbard initially planned to resign June 30 as she helps her husband battle cancer.... Pulte was able to persuade Trump to pick him as Gabbard's successor by promising to fire more ODNI staff...."

Mike DeBonis of Politico: “... Donald Trump laid out twin demands for new party-line Republican legislation Wednesday night, directing lawmakers to deliver a massive Pentagon cash infusion and to push through an election overhaul that has stalled for weeks in the Senate. Trump detailed his request for the bill, to be passed under budget reconciliation rules that can avoid a filibuster from Senate Democrats, in a Truth Social post calling on the GOP to act 'IMMEDIATELY.'”

Dan Diamond & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: Twenty-two “medical specialists assessed [Donald Trump] as part of his latest checkup, according to a medical report recently released by the White House. That figure is nearly double the number of specialists who assessed Trump for his past medical checkups as president.... The figure also represents the most medical specialists to assess a president for a single visit..., , prompting questions from outside physicians who said they were already skeptical of the White House’s disclosures around the nearly 80-year-old Trump’s health.”

Arc de Trump News. Matthew Daly of the AP: “Construction of the 250-foot-high triumphal arch that ... Donald Trump wants built near the Lincoln Memorial could occur 20 hours per day, year-round, as officials push to complete the project within three years, according to a preliminary assessment by the National Park Service.... Work would occur year-round in two 10-hour shifts per day, the Park Service report said. The 24-page assessment by NPS staff was released last week as a part of a fast-tracked historic preservation review that began Friday. The park service oversees the land where the administration wants to build the arch.”

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Sarah Rumpf (rhymes with “Drumpf”) of Mediaite explores the mysterious disappearance of CNN's popular fact-checker Daniel Dale, best-known for his rapid-fire on-air debunking of Donald Trump's porkies. “Last year’s merger between Paramount and Skydance [who are in the process of buying Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN] has sparked a series of controversies and criticisms over concerns that new company chief David Ellison, along with his hand-picked CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss, have been overly meddlesome with the journalistic endeavors by the media conglomerate’s reporters. ”

  
The New York Times liveblog of developments in the Iran War are here. From the pinned item at 5:40 am ET: “The United States and Iran traded a new round of attacks early Thursday, bringing the countries closer to all-out war after ... [Donald] Trump vowed to keep up military pressure on Tehran to make a peace deal. The tit-for-tat strikes this week risked pushing the conflict into a dangerous new phase, with no clear signs of whether the fighting could be contained. Iran’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the latest round of U.S. strikes on Iran had effectively rendered the cease-fire 'meaningless' and warned of 'highly dangerous consequences,' without giving specifics. The latest American attack began shortly after midnight in Tehran, according to the U.S. military’s Central Command. Explosions were heard in Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the southern cities of Bandar Abbas, Minab and Sirik, Iranian news outlets reported. Just after 4:30 a.m. in Iran, Central Command said that its round of strikes had concluded. Mr. Trump had earlier told Fox News that strikes would resume the following night if Tehran did not capitulate in negotiations to end the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.” 

Ben Johansen & Paul McLeary of Politico: “U.S. forces launched a second straight day of airstrikes Wednesday in Iran as ... Donald Trump presses for a settlement to end a war that has simmered for months. U.S. Central Command announced what it called 'self-defense strikes' against multiple targets without providing further details. The action followed attacks on radar and air defense sites a day earlier in response to the downing of an Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.”

Barak Ravid of Axios: "The trigger for ... [Donald] Trump's strikes on Iran was the downing of a U.S. helicopter, but behind the scenes Trump had been growing more and more frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for an Iranian response to his latest offer that still has not arrived.... As the Qataris and Iranians met on Wednesday, Trump made new threats.  'We're going to hit them again hard today, in case you miss it, because you don't turn on your television set, and we'll see what happens with the deal. Trump said Iran had been 'playing us for suckers' and 'tapping us along' in talks. Iran's president countered that Trump's threats showed not strength, but 'desperation.'... Trump's envoys and the regional mediators are still working to patch together a deal, but the president's latest comments may signal his patience has run out." 

U.S. (Allegedly!) Commits New War Crimes. Christoph Koettl & Christiaan Triebert of the New York Times: “Strikes early Wednesday destroyed what appears to be a drinking-water facility on Iran’s southern coast, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Around the time of the strikes, the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that it had conducted attacks near the strait 'with precision munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets.' Iranian state media reported that the U.S. had hit water storage buildings and a local official said that water was cut off to more than 20,000 people living in a town and villages nearby. Temperatures in the area have reached above 100 degrees Fahrenheit this week.... Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime under international law.” The link appears to be a gift link.

Mark Mazzetti & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: “David J. Rush, the former C.I.A. officer found last month with $40 million in gold bars in his home and now under F.B.I. investigation, had powerful friends in government. It turns out that one of them, Stephen A. Feinberg, the deputy secretary of defense, even contacted the C.I.A. earlier this year asking to work more closely with him. Before the C.I.A. fired Mr. Rush, he and Mr. Feinberg worked together on a highly classified program focused on spying on China, according to the current and former officials. Mr. Feinberg reached out to a senior agency official, pushing for Mr. Rush to play a greater role in the classified program.... Officials close to Mr. Feinberg have downplayed their connection in recent weeks.” 

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “A federal judge denied a request to temporarily halt the Trump administration’s proposed 'anti-weaponization fund but warned the Justice Department not to misrepresent the status of the $1.8 billion fund, which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress is not moving forward. 'Don’t play possum with this court,' U.S. District Judge Richard Leon warned a Justice Department attorney in court Wednesday afternoon after he rejected the temporary restraining order request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, one of several groups seeking to block the fund.”

Annie Correal, et al., of the New York Times: “A meeting scheduled for this week between President Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York was called off after U.S. diplomats told Colombia’s government that the move could violate the terms under which Mr. Petro was being permitted to enter the United States, Colombian and American officials said. The U.S. State Department canceled Mr. Petro’s visa last fall, and he only had a limited travel allowance to attend a U.N. Security Council Meeting on Wednesday — any other activities outside that meeting were not allowed, the officials said. Colombian officials said they agreed to cancel the meeting, which was scheduled for Friday, after officials at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, contacted Colombia’s foreign ministry. While foreign heads of state typically have visas that let them freely enter the United States, the U.S. State Department canceled Mr. Petro’s visa after he appeared at a pro-Palestinian rally in Manhattan in September and, denouncing U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, called on U.S. soldiers to disobey presidential orders.”

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Maine Senate Race. This One's for akaWendy. Jacob Gallagher of the New York Times: “When Graham Platner delivered his victory speech on Tuesday night, after winning the Democratic primary in Maine..., he wore a button-up dress shirt, tucked in.... He was back in a hoodie on 'Morning Joe' the next day. Still, it was a departure for the nominee, who from the beginning has presented in a take-me-for-who-I-am wardrobe. Platner, whose campaign has been aided by advisers including Morris Katz (who also worked with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator John Fetterman), was nudged into running in part because of his untamed rhetoric and rough-hewed look. As my colleague Joe Bernstein wrote in January, Platner fit the mold of 'a gruff white guy who looked as if he had just walked off a job site,' one of the things Democratic operatives like Katz have sought out as they attempt to draw working-class voters back to the party.” MB: So Platner owns a dress shirt (and slacks, by the look of the photo accompanying the article), and the unkempt look may be a calculated pose. ~~~

~~~ Lisa Lerer & Bayliss Wagner of the New York Times on the Maine Senate race. After attacking Platner, Trump said of his rival Sen. Susan Collins, “she’s not my best friend at all,” but she is “a sane person.” 

Minnesota Mitch Smith of the New York Times: “Federal prosecutors told a judge on Wednesday that they had reached a plea deal with Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband last year in a politically motivated attack. The Justice Department’s letter to the judge described 'a proposed plea agreement' and asked for a hearing in which Mr. Boelter could change his not guilty plea. The letter also said that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty. The public version of the court filing did not specify the terms of the agreement. Mr. Boelter was accused in federal and state court of fatally shooting State Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark. He was also accused of shooting and wounding State Senator John A. Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette.... Judge John R. Tunheim set the change of plea hearing for Thursday morning.”