With the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “[The] CPI report revealed that inflation beat market expectations once again and remains stable, underscoring President Trump’s commitment to lower costs for American families and businesses. The Panicans continue to be proven wrong by the data – President Trump’s tariffs are raking in billions of dollars, small business optimism is at a five-month high, and real wages are rising. The American people have rightfully put their trust in President Trump’s America First agenda that is Making America Wealthy Again.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Just the facts:

• Since President Trump took office, inflation is tracking at 1.9% — low and stable.
• Real average weekly earnings increased in July.
  • Americans’ real wages are up 1.3% over last year and have increased each month since President Trump took office.
  • Wage growth for American workers is beating inflation, while Americans are getting more hours at work.
  • Egg prices fell once again in July and are down 20% since President Trump took office.
  • Smartphones: -14.7% year-over-year
• Prices for everyday goods continue to decline — just in time for back-to-school shopping.
  • Energy prices fell in July — including gasoline, which is down nearly 10% over last year, and propane, which is down 2.5% over last year.
  • Fuel oil: -2.9%
  • Energy commodities: -9%
  • Hotels: -4.8%
  • Education & communication commodities: -4.3%
  • Ship fares: -4.9%
  • Propane: -2.5%
  • Internet services: -2.4%
  • Butter & margarine: -1.8%
  • Nonprescription drugs: -1.8%
  • Books: -1.8%
  • Rice & pasta: -1.5%
  • Frozen veggies: -2.2%
  • Tinned fish: -1.3%
  • Sports tickets: -1.1%
  • Peanut butter: -3.3%

• Shelter inflation — the largest contributor to inflation — is at its lowest level since October 2021.
• Small business optimism reached a five-month high.
  • Bloomberg: “Sentiment among US small businesses climbed to a five-month high in July as owners grew more upbeat about the economic outlook, fueling a pickup in expansion plans.”

Karoline Leavitt (from Wikipedia) born August 24, 1997) is an American political spokesperson who has served since 2025 as the 36th White House press secretary under the second Trump administration.

Leavitt studied politics and communication at Saint Anselm College, writing for the school newspaper and founding a broadcasting club. She interned in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence and later became its associate director. In June 2020, Leavitt became an assistant White House press secretary. After Donald Trump‘s assumed but disputed loss in 2020, she became communications director for New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

In July 2021, Leavitt announced her campaign for the United States House of Representatives election for New Hampshire‘s first congressional district. Leavitt won the Republican primary, though she lost to the incumbent Democrat. She served as a spokeswoman for MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, and became the press secretary for his 2024 presidential campaign. In November 2024, then-President-elect Donald Trump named Leavitt as his White House press secretary.