All itemsSince Jan. 2025
+5.4%The broad national basket
Jan. 2025September 2026
The national checkout report
Has Trump made
things cheaper yet?
No.
Overall consumer prices are 5.4% higher than January 2025.
That's the broad U.S. average—not a slogan, a single grocery receipt or a vibes-based index.
01 / The scoreboard
What prices are doing
Latest available: September 2026
FoodSince Jan. 2025
+4.5%Groceries and dining out
Jan. 2025September 2026
EnergySince Jan. 2025
+19.7%Gasoline, electricity and fuel
Jan. 2025September 2026
Method: change in the seasonally adjusted CPI-U index from January 2025 to the latest available month. A rising index means the average price level rose. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
02 / The context
“Cheaper” is not the same as “inflation slowed.”
Prices can rise more slowly and still rise.
Inflation is the rate of change. If inflation falls from 6% to 3%, prices did not fall; they just climbed at a slower pace. Broad price declines are called deflation.
Presidents matter, but they do not set the price tag.
Taxes, spending, tariffs and regulation can push costs around. So can the Federal Reserve, Congress, global energy markets, weather, supply chains and businesses.
Tariffs are taxes on imported goods.
Importers pay them, then may absorb the cost or pass some of it to customers. They can protect selected industries, but they are not a general-purpose price-cutting tool.
The short version
Campaign promises are easy. Making the entire national price level go backward—without also breaking the economy—is not.
Read past the punchline