Cabot Phillips

So this report came as a surprise to a lot of folks on Wall Street and especially the legacy media.

Here are some of the responses we saw on CNN and CNBC.

As you can imagine, the Trump administration took a bit of a victory lap on Thursday.

Here's White House economist Kevin Hassett kind of mocking the experts who had predicted that inflation would be spiking right now.

And investors were also thrilled by the news as the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all climbed significantly, almost hitting record highs following the report.

And it's also worth pointing out, if inflation keeps heading in the right direction, it could also make it more likely the Fed will continue to lower interest rates next year, which, again, would be more welcome news for Trump.

For their part, the White House took offense to the idea that inflation fell unexpectedly.

One administration official argued that this should be expected when a president, quote,

slashes costly regulations, and allows the energy sector to drill baby drill.

And to that last point on oil, nationwide gas prices have reached their lowest point since 2021.

More good news there, 38 states are now below $3 a gallon, and in seven states, it's below $2.50.

So there are still some skeptics on this report and the economy more broadly.

They point out that the government shutdown last month could have impacted some of the data gathering from the federal government and resulted in some slight inaccuracies.

But regardless, the White House is thrilled.

So now we've got to see how voters respond.

There's no question this report comes at a great time for Trump.

As you mentioned, he's working to convince folks ahead of the midterms that his economy is gaining momentum after four years of Joe Biden at the helm.

And

There's no question he's got some ground to gain.

Poll after poll shows him still struggling on this issue.