1 00:00:15,444 --> 00:00:16,794 [Rush Lindell] What nobody wants to say? 2 00:00:17,144 --> 00:00:18,044 [Rush Lindell] Five words. 3 00:00:18,393 --> 00:00:24,393 [Rush Lindell] Five words that may be the most politically self-destructive sentence uttered in the Oval Office this decade: 4 00:00:24,393 --> 00:00:25,044 [Reagan] Wow. 5 00:00:25,044 --> 00:00:26,944 [Rush Lindell] I love the inflation. 6 00:00:27,594 --> 00:00:34,944 [Rush Lindell] That's the President of the United States on the record as CPI just hit 4.2%, a three-year high. 7 00:00:35,572 --> 00:00:36,672 [Speaker 3] Set it with a smile, 8 00:00:36,772 --> 00:00:36,972 [Speaker 3] too. 9 00:00:37,522 --> 00:00:40,272 [Rush Lindell] Like a man who just found a twenty in an old jacket. 10 00:00:40,822 --> 00:00:41,272 [Rush Lindell] Meanwhile, 11 00:00:41,572 --> 00:00:42,722 [Rush Lindell] grocery bills are climbing, 12 00:00:43,022 --> 00:00:44,172 [Rush Lindell] wages aren't keeping up, 13 00:00:44,472 --> 00:00:47,122 [Rush Lindell] and CNBC is running the quote on a Chiron. 14 00:00:47,122 --> 00:00:47,572 [Speaker 3] Mm-hmm. 15 00:00:47,572 --> 00:00:49,022 [Rush Lindell] This is the show today. 16 00:00:49,524 --> 00:00:50,173 [Speaker 3] And look, 17 00:00:50,274 --> 00:00:52,224 [Speaker 3] there's actually a case buried in there! 18 00:00:52,573 --> 00:00:55,224 [Speaker 3] Energy is driving the bulk of that headline number, 19 00:00:55,673 --> 00:00:57,624 [Speaker 3] the Iran war is a real variable, 20 00:00:57,874 --> 00:01:00,424 [Speaker 3] and core inflation is sitting at two point nine. 21 00:01:00,774 --> 00:01:04,924 [Speaker 3] The White House has a defense; whether it holds up is a separate question. 22 00:01:05,524 --> 00:01:06,574 [Rush Lindell] That's the question. 23 00:01:06,924 --> 00:01:09,174 [Rush Lindell] Does he have a defensible economic argument, 24 00:01:09,324 --> 00:01:13,224 [Rush Lindell] or did he just hand every critic a quote that will outlive this news cycle? 25 00:01:13,623 --> 00:01:15,224 [Rush Lindell] We're going to work through both sides of that. 26 00:01:15,603 --> 00:01:17,754 [Speaker 3] We'll break down the May CPI print, 27 00:01:18,203 --> 00:01:19,353 [Speaker 3] what's actually in it, 28 00:01:19,504 --> 00:01:24,504 [Speaker 3] and what the Tariff-to-Price pipeline looks like now that retailers have stopped absorbing the hit. 29 00:01:24,653 --> 00:01:37,504 [Rush Lindell] And then there's Marjorie Taylor Greene calling the line a punch in the gut on CNN and gifting Democrats a ready-made campaign ad heading into the midterms, which is a sentence I did not expect to write this week. 30 00:01:37,704 --> 00:01:38,653 [Speaker 3] Wild week. 31 00:01:39,004 --> 00:01:40,103 [Rush Lindell] Wild week. 32 00:01:40,304 --> 00:01:44,554 [Rush Lindell] We'll also get into what this means for swing district Republicans six months from November. 33 00:01:44,308 --> 00:01:44,808 [Rush Lindell] From November, 34 00:01:45,258 --> 00:01:46,308 [Rush Lindell] trap or opening? 35 00:01:46,958 --> 00:01:54,508 [Speaker 3] And we close on what a principled conservative accountability case actually looks like—not the talking points—the real argument. 36 00:01:55,208 --> 00:01:58,808 [Rush Lindell] Four-point-two per cent.--I love the inflation. 37 00:01:59,457 --> 00:02:01,508 [Rush Lindell] Let's find out if those two things can coexist. 38 00:02:02,108 --> 00:02:04,058 [Rush Lindell] The show starts right now. 39 00:02:09,563 --> 00:02:10,813 [Rush Lindell] Before we dig in, 40 00:02:10,963 --> 00:02:11,664 [Rush Lindell] a quick reminder: 41 00:02:12,014 --> 00:02:13,414 [Rush Lindell] we love hearing from you. 42 00:02:13,614 --> 00:02:16,264 [Rush Lindell] If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover, 43 00:02:16,664 --> 00:02:19,213 [Rush Lindell] head to the link in the description and submit your question. 44 00:02:19,614 --> 00:02:21,514 [Rush Lindell] We read every single one. 45 00:02:26,963 --> 00:02:28,514 [Rush Lindell] I love the inflation. 46 00:02:29,108 --> 00:02:30,008 [Rush Lindell] That's the quote. 47 00:02:30,457 --> 00:02:31,307 [Rush Lindell] Oval Office, 48 00:02:31,408 --> 00:02:33,008 [Rush Lindell] reporters standing right there, 49 00:02:33,457 --> 00:02:38,108 [Rush Lindell] BLS just dropped a CPI reading of 4.2 percent year over year, 50 00:02:38,307 --> 00:02:41,158 [Rush Lindell] the first time it cracked 4 percent since 2023. 51 00:02:41,608 --> 00:02:45,307 [Rush Lindell] And that is what the President of the United States said. 52 00:02:45,707 --> 00:02:48,207 [Speaker 3] I mean, you almost have to respect the audacity. 53 00:02:48,608 --> 00:02:50,707 [Rush Lindell] He didn't stumble into it, either. 54 00:02:51,057 --> 00:02:51,807 [Rush Lindell] He went further. 55 00:02:52,408 --> 00:02:56,307 [Rush Lindell] Time reported he said inflation is going to come down like a rock. 56 00:02:56,116 --> 00:02:56,416 [Rush Lindell] Rock, 57 00:02:56,516 --> 00:02:59,616 [Rush Lindell] once the Iran war ends; so that's the argument. 58 00:03:00,066 --> 00:03:01,316 [Rush Lindell] This is war inflation, 59 00:03:01,716 --> 00:03:02,216 [Rush Lindell] temporary, 60 00:03:02,616 --> 00:03:03,466 [Rush Lindell] not his fault. 61 00:03:03,916 --> 00:03:04,366 [Speaker 3] And look, 62 00:03:04,466 --> 00:03:06,566 [Speaker 3] that argument has a real economic basis: 63 00:03:07,016 --> 00:03:12,165 [Speaker 3] energy accounts for more than sixty percent of the CPI increase according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 64 00:03:12,766 --> 00:03:13,966 [Speaker 3] If you end the conflict, 65 00:03:14,165 --> 00:03:15,165 [Speaker 3] energy prices ease, 66 00:03:15,415 --> 00:03:16,665 [Speaker 3] the headline number drops. 67 00:03:17,165 --> 00:03:18,665 [Speaker 3] That logic is not crazy. 68 00:03:19,266 --> 00:03:20,966 [Rush Lindell] The logic isn't crazy, 69 00:03:21,266 --> 00:03:22,766 [Rush Lindell] the sentence is crazy. 70 00:03:23,060 --> 00:03:23,659 [Speaker 3] Yeah, 71 00:03:23,810 --> 00:03:26,460 [Speaker 4] the sentence is a problem. 72 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:38,110 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say; a President can have a defensible economic read and still hand every political opponent a loaded weapon and then act surprised when they pull the trigger. 73 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,860 [Speaker 3] The Hill reported that even Marjorie Taylor Greene said this quote is going to bite him. 74 00:03:43,210 --> 00:03:46,460 [Speaker 3] That's not a Democrat talking; that's his own base flagging the optics. 75 00:03:47,187 --> 00:03:51,037 [Rush Lindell] When Marjorie Taylor Greene is the voice of restraint, 76 00:03:51,337 --> 00:03:52,037 [Rush Lindell] hold on, 77 00:03:52,187 --> 00:03:53,187 [Rush Lindell] let that land, 78 00:03:53,487 --> 00:03:54,537 [Rush Lindell] you stepped in something. 79 00:03:54,987 --> 00:03:57,987 [Speaker 4] The White House is now running two stories simultaneously. 80 00:03:58,687 --> 00:03:59,737 [Speaker 4] Prices are up sharply, 81 00:04:00,037 --> 00:04:00,737 [Speaker 4] but trust us, 82 00:04:00,887 --> 00:04:02,087 [Speaker 4] they'd be worse without us. 83 00:04:02,487 --> 00:04:04,587 [Speaker 4] That's a very hard sell at a grocery store. 84 00:04:05,137 --> 00:04:06,837 [Rush Lindell] CNBC put it straight: 85 00:04:07,237 --> 00:04:12,537 [Rush Lindell] Elevated prices have cost the average household more than three thousand one hundred dollars. 86 00:04:12,987 --> 00:04:14,137 [Rush Lindell] That's not a data point, 87 00:04:14,437 --> 00:04:14,687 [Rush Lindell] that's a 88 00:04:14,687 --> 00:04:15,237 [Speaker 5] kick. 89 00:04:14,515 --> 00:04:17,216 [Rush Lindell] That's a kitchen table number; people feel that. 90 00:04:17,515 --> 00:04:24,115 [Speaker 3] And the question that actually matters-the one the White House framing does not answer-is how much of that pain is war, 91 00:04:24,315 --> 00:04:27,565 [Speaker 3] and how much was already baked in before a single missile flew. 92 00:04:28,115 --> 00:04:28,466 [Rush Lindell] Yeah, 93 00:04:28,765 --> 00:04:31,966 [Rush Lindell] and that's exactly where the CPI report gets interesting. 94 00:04:37,528 --> 00:04:42,927 [Rush Lindell] So let's actually look at what four point two percent means when you break it down. 95 00:04:43,228 --> 00:04:48,978 [Rush Lindell] The BLS data shows energy accounted for over 60 percent of the entire monthly increase. 96 00:04:49,228 --> 00:04:51,327 [Rush Lindell] Strip that out, core inflation, 97 00:04:51,577 --> 00:04:52,927 [Rush Lindell] food and energy excluded, 98 00:04:53,327 --> 00:04:55,377 [Rush Lindell] sits at two point nine percent annually, 99 00:04:55,877 --> 00:04:59,627 [Rush Lindell] which is the number the White House is going to quote every single time. 100 00:05:00,028 --> 00:05:00,627 [Rush Lindell] Exactly. 101 00:05:00,728 --> 00:05:01,927 [Rush Lindell] And on a spreadsheet, 102 00:05:02,228 --> 00:05:03,427 [Rush Lindell] that argument has some merit. 103 00:05:03,315 --> 00:05:03,515 [Rush Lindell] All right, 104 00:05:03,665 --> 00:05:09,865 [Rush Lindell] but here's my problem with it: the person filling up a tank and buying ground beef doesn't live on a spreadsheet. 105 00:05:09,865 --> 00:05:10,615 [Speaker 6] Right. Right. 106 00:05:10,615 --> 00:05:12,665 [Rush Lindell] Nobody sits at the dinner table going, 107 00:05:12,815 --> 00:05:13,065 [Rush Lindell] well, 108 00:05:13,315 --> 00:05:14,565 [Rush Lindell] Core is 2.9, 109 00:05:14,665 --> 00:05:15,465 [Rush Lindell] so I'm fine. 110 00:05:15,765 --> 00:05:16,165 [Rush Lindell] No, 111 00:05:16,315 --> 00:05:18,965 [Rush Lindell] and the grocery aisle is where this gets specific. 112 00:05:19,415 --> 00:05:29,665 [Rush Lindell] AEI's analysis shows ground beef prices were up roughly seventeen point nine percent and coffee up roughly thirty one point nine percent between January and late 113 00:05:29,459 --> 00:05:30,759 [Rush Lindell] In late twenty twenty five. 114 00:05:30,959 --> 00:05:36,509 [Rush Lindell] Those aren't one time shocks; tariffs are a contributing factor AEI names directly. 115 00:05:36,909 --> 00:05:39,109 [Rush Lindell] Wake coffee up thirty one percent? 116 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,060 [Rush Lindell] Nearly thirty two percent. 117 00:05:41,459 --> 00:05:48,560 [Rush Lindell] Brazil faces a fifty percent tariff on its exports to the US. And we get roughly a third of our coffee beans from Brazil. 118 00:05:48,810 --> 00:05:51,009 [Rush Lindell] There's nowhere else to source it at that scale. 119 00:05:51,459 --> 00:05:57,560 [Rush Lindell] So you've got energy driving the headline number and groceries quietly doing their own damage underneath it. 120 00:05:57,331 --> 00:06:00,481 [Speaker 7] And the White House gets to point at the headline and say, 121 00:06:00,632 --> 00:06:00,932 [Speaker 7] "See? 122 00:06:01,132 --> 00:06:01,731 [Speaker 7] Energy, 123 00:06:01,932 --> 00:06:02,481 [Speaker 7] Iran, 124 00:06:02,731 --> 00:06:03,932 [Speaker 7] War." Right. 125 00:06:04,031 --> 00:06:06,031 [Speaker 7] And that argument is not wrong, 126 00:06:06,331 --> 00:06:11,081 [Speaker 7] but it conveniently ignores what was already baked in before the first missile flew. 127 00:06:11,432 --> 00:06:14,481 [Speaker 7] The Tax Foundation estimates current tariff policy, 128 00:06:14,831 --> 00:06:19,231 [Speaker 7] what's left after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA levies in February, 129 00:06:19,731 --> 00:06:23,581 [Speaker 7] still amounts to roughly seven hundred dollars per household this year. 130 00:06:23,348 --> 00:06:23,548 [Speaker 7] a year, 131 00:06:23,948 --> 00:06:26,497 [Speaker 7] seven hundred dollars on top of energy, 132 00:06:26,898 --> 00:06:27,997 [Speaker 7] on top of energy. 133 00:06:28,198 --> 00:06:31,948 [Speaker 7] So the question isn't whether the Iran war pushed prices up, 134 00:06:32,148 --> 00:06:32,598 [Speaker 7] it did. 135 00:06:32,747 --> 00:06:37,198 [Speaker 7] The question is what floor prices were already sitting on before it did. 136 00:06:37,398 --> 00:06:39,898 [Speaker 7] And that floor was built in Washington, 137 00:06:40,098 --> 00:06:48,747 [Speaker 7] which is exactly where the next conversation goes because the pipeline from tariff policy to your shopping cart is more direct than most people realize. 138 00:06:54,163 --> 00:06:57,813 [Rush Lindell] So while Washington points at Tehran for every price spike, 139 00:06:58,113 --> 00:06:59,963 [Rush Lindell] retailers have been running their own quiet 140 00:07:00,101 --> 00:07:01,151 [Rush Lindell] little experiment. 141 00:07:01,651 --> 00:07:02,951 [Rush Lindell] Let me call it what it is, 142 00:07:03,251 --> 00:07:04,801 [Rush Lindell] the delayed pain tour. 143 00:07:05,251 --> 00:07:07,751 [Reagan] That is unfortunately accurate. 144 00:07:08,301 --> 00:07:10,801 [Rush Lindell] The whole 2025 story was absorption. 145 00:07:11,451 --> 00:07:13,551 [Rush Lindell] Retailers swallowed the tariff costs, 146 00:07:13,701 --> 00:07:14,851 [Rush Lindell] kept prices steady, 147 00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:17,151 [Rush Lindell] protected their margins just long enough. 148 00:07:17,601 --> 00:07:19,001 [Rush Lindell] Now that inventory's gone. 149 00:07:19,201 --> 00:07:22,151 [Reagan] And the Federal Reserve actually documented this. 150 00:07:22,551 --> 00:07:24,601 [Reagan] Fed researchers published a note in April. 151 00:07:24,951 --> 00:07:27,701 [Reagan] They found tariffs implemented through November 2025 152 00:07:28,025 --> 00:07:33,925 [Reagan] I've raised core goods PCE prices by three point one percent through February twenty twenty six, 153 00:07:34,375 --> 00:07:35,375 [Reagan] and they're direct about 154 00:07:35,375 --> 00:07:35,425 [Rush Lindell] Wow. 155 00:07:35,425 --> 00:07:36,325 [Reagan] it. That figure, 156 00:07:36,475 --> 00:07:36,675 [Reagan] quote, 157 00:07:37,025 --> 00:07:43,325 [Reagan] explains the entirety of excess inflation in the core goods category relative to pre pandemic rates. 158 00:07:43,775 --> 00:07:44,025 [Rush Lindell] Wait, 159 00:07:44,225 --> 00:07:44,775 [Rush Lindell] entirety? 160 00:07:45,325 --> 00:07:46,825 [Rush Lindell] Not contributed to, 161 00:07:46,975 --> 00:07:48,725 [Rush Lindell] Not was a factor in. 162 00:07:49,175 --> 00:07:51,175 [Reagan] Entirety. Dollar for dollar. 163 00:07:51,675 --> 00:07:55,525 [Rush Lindell] So the receipt was always coming; it just took a year to arrive. 164 00:07:55,353 --> 00:07:55,653 [Rush Lindell] arrive. 165 00:07:55,953 --> 00:07:57,753 [Reagan] Morningstar's got a similar read. 166 00:07:58,053 --> 00:07:58,853 [Reagan] Durable goods, 167 00:07:59,003 --> 00:07:59,553 [Reagan] electronics, 168 00:07:59,903 --> 00:08:00,403 [Reagan] appliances, 169 00:08:00,853 --> 00:08:07,603 [Reagan] tools—they're projecting a cumulative 4.5% increase over the 2025 to 2027 window. 170 00:08:08,103 --> 00:08:09,853 [Reagan] We're in the middle of that window right now. 171 00:08:10,353 --> 00:08:14,103 [Rush Lindell] And this is the distinction the White House does not want voters drawing: 172 00:08:14,603 --> 00:08:22,953 [Rush Lindell] Iran is real-energy costs from that conflict are real-but energy and goods inflation are two different animals running in the same direction. 173 00:08:23,321 --> 00:08:29,421 [Reagan] Right; and when you blend them together into one headline number you can blame one and ignore the other. 174 00:08:29,721 --> 00:08:30,621 [Reagan] That's the whole strategy. 175 00:08:31,171 --> 00:08:33,271 [Rush Lindell] You know what that press release would look like: 176 00:08:33,721 --> 00:08:38,771 [Rush Lindell] "This appliance price increase was brought to you by the Iran war." Some restrictions apply. 177 00:08:39,171 --> 00:08:40,721 [Rush Lindell] Tariff contribution not included. 178 00:08:41,021 --> 00:08:42,171 [Rush Lindell] See shells for details. 179 00:08:42,745 --> 00:08:43,695 [Reagan] Rush. 180 00:08:44,295 --> 00:08:45,245 [Rush Lindell] I'm serious. 181 00:08:45,595 --> 00:08:48,245 [Rush Lindell] That's the gift receipt version of inflation policy. 182 00:08:48,795 --> 00:08:52,945 [Reagan] The problem is some people inside the coalition are starting to notice the receipt, 183 00:08:53,345 --> 00:08:55,695 [Reagan] and one of them just went on CNN to say so. 184 00:09:00,985 --> 00:09:07,335 [Rush Lindell] Someone inside the coalition just noticed the receipt and went on CNN to say so. 185 00:09:07,635 --> 00:09:08,885 [Reagan] And not just anyone, 186 00:09:09,185 --> 00:09:10,585 [Reagan] Marjorie Taylor Greene. 187 00:09:10,685 --> 00:09:19,135 [Rush Lindell] Marjorie Taylor Greene on CNN with Kaitlan Collins agreeing with the Democratic attack line. 188 00:09:19,285 --> 00:09:21,685 [Rush Lindell] I want everyone to sit with that for a second. 189 00:09:21,885 --> 00:09:23,185 [Reagan] The Hill covered it. 190 00:09:23,235 --> 00:09:24,335 [Reagan] Her exact words. 191 00:09:24,335 --> 00:09:24,685 [Rush Lindell] Wow. 192 00:09:24,685 --> 00:09:27,535 [Reagan] He basically just handed the Democrats a great 193 00:09:27,481 --> 00:09:30,681 [Reagan] Big Big Campaign Ad for the twenty twenty six Midterms. 194 00:09:31,181 --> 00:09:37,181 [Rush Lindell] Campaign ad-handed to them-free of charge-no production budget required. 195 00:09:37,731 --> 00:09:38,831 [Reagan] She also called it, 196 00:09:38,981 --> 00:09:40,281 [Reagan] and I'm reading this directly, 197 00:09:40,831 --> 00:09:44,931 [Reagan] a punch in the gut to every single American struggling to pay their bills. 198 00:09:45,531 --> 00:09:48,131 [Rush Lindell] She called it a punch in the gut, 199 00:09:48,431 --> 00:09:54,981 [Rush Lindell] which means the most loyal corners of the MAGA coalition are now using the exact same language as the DNC. 200 00:09:54,969 --> 00:09:56,519 [Rush Lindell] THE TALKING POINTS MEMO. 201 00:09:56,619 --> 00:09:58,569 [Reagan] And that's the real story, 202 00:09:58,869 --> 00:10:01,219 [Reagan] not the optics of which channel she chose. 203 00:10:01,669 --> 00:10:04,969 [Reagan] Republican operatives have been saying this privately for months. 204 00:10:05,419 --> 00:10:09,019 [Reagan] Greene just said it out loud, on camera, to a national audience. 205 00:10:09,819 --> 00:10:16,769 [Rush Lindell] Wait, wait. She also reminded everyone that MAGA spent four years screaming about Biden inflation, 206 00:10:17,169 --> 00:10:19,669 [Rush Lindell] their words, at the top of their lungs. 207 00:10:19,969 --> 00:10:20,519 [Reagan] Right. 208 00:10:20,619 --> 00:10:23,569 [Reagan] So the argument that this president gets a pass because 209 00:10:23,513 --> 00:10:24,813 [Reagan] Because it's his inflation, 210 00:10:25,363 --> 00:10:28,463 [Reagan] that doesn't survive contact with the base's own history. 211 00:10:28,813 --> 00:10:30,863 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 212 00:10:31,313 --> 00:10:34,113 [Rush Lindell] When MTG is your early warning system, 213 00:10:34,463 --> 00:10:36,013 [Rush Lindell] you don't have a messaging problem. 214 00:10:36,113 --> 00:10:37,913 [Rush Lindell] You have a substance problem. 215 00:10:38,363 --> 00:10:40,213 [Reagan] That's the signal worth watching. 216 00:10:40,713 --> 00:10:42,863 [Reagan] This isn't Greene going rogue for attention. 217 00:10:43,113 --> 00:10:48,063 [Reagan] It's a data point about where base tolerance for economic pain actually sits. 218 00:10:48,313 --> 00:10:50,663 [Reagan] And that tolerance appears to have a ceiling. 219 00:10:51,097 --> 00:10:52,997 [Rush Lindell] Which brings us to November, 220 00:10:53,347 --> 00:10:57,947 [Rush Lindell] because every swing district Republican now has to answer one question. 221 00:10:58,447 --> 00:10:59,747 [Reagan] Do you love it too? 222 00:11:00,197 --> 00:11:01,797 [Rush Lindell] Good luck with that one. 223 00:11:07,193 --> 00:11:11,243 [Rush Lindell] So the question every swing district Republican is waking up with right now: 224 00:11:11,593 --> 00:11:13,293 [Rush Lindell] What do you run on in November? 225 00:11:13,443 --> 00:11:17,193 [Rush Lindell] Because that Oval Office moment follows you onto every debate stage. 226 00:11:17,593 --> 00:11:19,043 [Reagan] And the numbers make it worse. 227 00:11:19,543 --> 00:11:24,543 [Reagan] Brookings had Trump's approval on handling inflation at just 30 percent as of late April, 228 00:11:24,993 --> 00:11:29,343 [Reagan] first time since 2010 that Democrats poll higher on the economy than Republicans. 229 00:11:29,893 --> 00:11:31,093 [Rush Lindell] Thirty percent! 230 00:11:31,293 --> 00:11:32,343 [Rush Lindell] You know what I call that? 231 00:11:32,693 --> 00:11:33,893 [Rush Lindell] The survival crouch. 232 00:11:34,093 --> 00:11:35,993 [Rush Lindell] That's the posture every Republican 233 00:11:35,897 --> 00:11:39,047 [Speaker 3] Republican in a swing district is doing right now—head down, 234 00:11:39,247 --> 00:11:42,047 [Speaker 3] arms up—hoping the quota doesn't land on them. 235 00:11:42,347 --> 00:11:43,297 [Reagan] I get the visual, 236 00:11:43,597 --> 00:11:47,547 [Reagan] but I actually think there's an opening there for a candidate who gets out in front of it, 237 00:11:47,747 --> 00:11:48,247 [Reagan] proactively. 238 00:11:48,947 --> 00:11:51,947 [Reagan] You don't have to love the inflation; you can say you don't. 239 00:11:52,347 --> 00:11:59,297 [Speaker 3] You think a Republican in a Biden-to-Trump district can criticize the White House on kitchen table economics and survive the primary? 240 00:11:59,847 --> 00:12:02,997 [Reagan] I think a Republican who doesn't is handing over the general. 241 00:12:02,937 --> 00:12:07,387 [Reagan] Girl.--Look at what Brian Fitzpatrick said; CNBC quoted him directly. 242 00:12:07,387 --> 00:12:07,787 [Speaker 3] Mm-hmm. 243 00:12:07,787 --> 00:12:10,687 [Reagan] When half of America is living paycheck to paycheck, 244 00:12:10,887 --> 00:12:11,987 [Reagan] the word "ballroom" 245 00:12:12,087 --> 00:12:13,887 [Reagan] should not be in anyone's vocabulary. 246 00:12:14,487 --> 00:12:15,737 [Speaker 3] He said that out loud. 247 00:12:16,137 --> 00:12:16,687 [Reagan] He did, 248 00:12:17,087 --> 00:12:23,737 [Reagan] and Fitzpatrick represents a swing district in Pennsylvania; he's not committing political suicide; he's trying to survive. 249 00:12:24,237 --> 00:12:24,637 [Speaker 3] Okay, 250 00:12:24,887 --> 00:12:25,137 [Speaker 3] fair 251 00:12:25,137 --> 00:12:25,187 [Reagan] Yeah. 252 00:12:25,187 --> 00:12:26,537 [Speaker 3] ; but here's my problem: 253 00:12:26,987 --> 00:12:29,487 [Speaker 3] Fitzpatrick can pull that off because he has a brand. 254 00:12:29,721 --> 00:12:31,771 [Speaker 3] The freshman in a marginal district? 255 00:12:32,121 --> 00:12:32,671 [Speaker 3] No brand, 256 00:12:32,921 --> 00:12:40,671 [Speaker 3] no runway-I love the inflation is now the default Republican position in every Democrat ad from now until November. 257 00:12:41,121 --> 00:12:48,571 [Reagan] Which is exactly why the ones who establish distance early have a shot-not separation from the party-separation from the moment. 258 00:12:49,121 --> 00:12:50,271 [Speaker 3] That's a real distinction, 259 00:12:50,521 --> 00:12:51,221 [Speaker 3] I'll give you that. 260 00:12:51,571 --> 00:12:58,671 [Reagan] The voters who need convincing aren't asking for a party switch; they're asking for one Republican to look them in the eye on grocery prices. 261 00:12:58,425 --> 00:12:58,875 [Reagan] grocery prices. 262 00:12:59,275 --> 00:13:02,975 [Speaker 3] And the White House's answer to all of this? Still pointing at Biden, 263 00:13:03,375 --> 00:13:10,525 [Speaker 3] which we need to get into that because that clock has an expiration date on it, and I think the May CPI data just punched it. 264 00:13:15,929 --> 00:13:25,429 [Rush Lindell] The White House's current answer to everything-and I mean everything-is some version of "prices would be worse under a Democrat." That's the whole defense. 265 00:13:25,829 --> 00:13:27,179 [Rush Lindell] That's the clock they're running. 266 00:13:27,579 --> 00:13:28,079 [Reagan] Right, 267 00:13:28,279 --> 00:13:31,579 [Reagan] and the numbers in some categories actually support that framing: 268 00:13:32,129 --> 00:13:36,729 [Reagan] Biden averaged 5% inflation annually; the comparison isn't invented. 269 00:13:37,329 --> 00:13:37,729 [Rush Lindell] Right, 270 00:13:37,829 --> 00:13:40,829 [Rush Lindell] but you can't win a grocery run with a history lesson. 271 00:13:41,029 --> 00:13:43,379 [Rush Lindell] Nobody at the checkout counter cares what Joe- 272 00:13:43,257 --> 00:13:44,607 [Speaker 3] Joe Biden would have done. 273 00:13:45,007 --> 00:13:47,757 [Reagan] Which is exactly what happened to Biden and Harris. 274 00:13:48,057 --> 00:13:53,757 [Reagan] They ran the transitory argument until it stopped working; now the same logic is running in reverse. 275 00:13:54,307 --> 00:14:00,057 [Speaker 3] CNBC's Q1 2026 All-America Economic Survey had Trump's net approval 276 00:14:00,202 --> 00:14:03,152 [Rush Lindell] on the economy at negative 21, 277 00:14:03,152 --> 00:14:03,702 [Reagan] Wow. 278 00:14:03,702 --> 00:14:07,302 [Rush Lindell] his lowest ever across both terms. That clock I mentioned? 279 00:14:07,552 --> 00:14:09,102 [Reagan] It's not ticking anymore. 280 00:14:10,014 --> 00:14:12,264 [Rush Lindell] It expired right there in the poll. 281 00:14:12,564 --> 00:14:15,464 [Reagan] The comparison to Biden isn't wrong on the merits, 282 00:14:15,664 --> 00:14:22,164 [Reagan] but leading with a dead man's economic record when CPI just crossed Four-point-two percent is a losing argument. 283 00:14:22,514 --> 00:14:24,364 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 284 00:14:24,764 --> 00:14:27,814 [Rush Lindell] The White House isn't even making an affirmative case. 285 00:14:28,164 --> 00:14:31,314 [Rush Lindell] They're just pointing backwards and hoping voters don't look forward. 286 00:14:31,614 --> 00:14:33,414 [Reagan] And voters are looking forward. 287 00:14:33,514 --> 00:14:35,414 [Reagan] They're doing it at the grocery store, 288 00:14:35,514 --> 00:14:35,964 [Reagan] at the 289 00:14:35,774 --> 00:14:36,324 [Reagan] At the Pump, 290 00:14:36,724 --> 00:14:43,224 [Reagan] CNBC reported elevated prices have cost the average household more than three thousand one hundred dollars by one estimate. 291 00:14:43,624 --> 00:14:45,024 [Reagan] That's not Biden-era money, 292 00:14:45,174 --> 00:14:45,774 [Reagan] that's now. 293 00:14:46,324 --> 00:14:47,624 [Rush Lindell] The "blame Biden" 294 00:14:47,724 --> 00:14:53,074 [Rush Lindell] clock had a stamp on it the day I took office; the May CPI print just punched it. 295 00:14:53,524 --> 00:14:53,924 [Rush Lindell] So, 296 00:14:54,124 --> 00:15:01,724 [Rush Lindell] if that argument is done-and I think it is-the question becomes what does a credible conservative case actually look like from here? 297 00:15:01,982 --> 00:15:03,732 [Reagan] That's exactly where we're going. 298 00:15:09,182 --> 00:15:14,032 [Rush Lindell] So where does that leave us? The better-than-Biden clock has expired. 299 00:15:14,332 --> 00:15:17,932 [Rush Lindell] The question now is what conservatives actually do with that. 300 00:15:18,332 --> 00:15:20,482 [Reagan] The policy picture is not fixed. 301 00:15:20,882 --> 00:15:28,132 [Reagan] The Section 301 tariffs expire July 24th. The USTR has two Section 301 investigations running, 302 00:15:28,532 --> 00:15:30,682 [Reagan] and those could replace them with something permanent. 303 00:15:31,082 --> 00:15:31,932 [Reagan] No time cap, 304 00:15:32,132 --> 00:15:32,982 [Reagan] no rate ceiling. 305 00:15:33,332 --> 00:15:35,032 [Reagan] That's a real fork in the road. 306 00:15:35,166 --> 00:15:39,866 [Rush Lindell] And that fork is exactly where the right needs to show up with a real argument, 307 00:15:40,166 --> 00:15:41,166 [Rush Lindell] not a press release. 308 00:15:41,616 --> 00:15:44,116 [Reagan] The credible conservative case isn't complicated: 309 00:15:44,666 --> 00:15:48,566 [Reagan] separate the tariff-driven goods inflation from the war-driven energy spike, 310 00:15:48,816 --> 00:15:50,816 [Reagan] they're different problems with different levers, 311 00:15:51,266 --> 00:15:53,866 [Reagan] then demand a real timeline from the White House, 312 00:15:54,216 --> 00:15:55,666 [Reagan] not when the war ends, 313 00:15:55,766 --> 00:15:57,016 [Reagan] an actual timeline, 314 00:15:57,266 --> 00:16:00,416 [Reagan] because when the war ends is not a fiscal policy. 315 00:16:00,816 --> 00:16:02,116 [Rush Lindell] When the war ends 316 00:16:02,166 --> 00:16:03,816 [Rush Lindell] is what you say when you don't have 317 00:16:03,816 --> 00:16:04,166 [Speaker 5] a clue. 318 00:16:03,550 --> 00:16:04,600 [Rush Lindell] Don't have a policy! 319 00:16:05,050 --> 00:16:08,050 [Reagan] And stop treating CPI like a political football. 320 00:16:08,450 --> 00:16:12,750 [Reagan] This administration spent years calling out Democrats for doing exactly that. 321 00:16:13,150 --> 00:16:15,800 [Reagan] The argument that the number matters when it's going down, 322 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:17,600 [Reagan] and doesn't matter when it's going up, 323 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:21,000 [Reagan] that's not a governing philosophy; that's a scoring system. 324 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:30,400 [Rush Lindell] Right; and voters who put this Administration in office on a lower prices mandate deserve better than a shrug and a smile from the Oval Office. 325 00:16:30,718 --> 00:16:34,168 [Reagan] The opening is there for any Conservative willing to take it: 326 00:16:34,518 --> 00:16:35,868 [Reagan] name the two inflations, 327 00:16:36,118 --> 00:16:37,218 [Reagan] demand the time line, 328 00:16:37,468 --> 00:16:39,568 [Reagan] hold the line on what the number actually 329 00:16:39,568 --> 00:16:39,618 [Speaker 3] Mm 330 00:16:39,618 --> 00:16:39,768 [Reagan] means 331 00:16:39,768 --> 00:16:39,918 [Speaker 3] -hmm. 332 00:16:39,918 --> 00:16:41,318 [Reagan] -that's accountability. 333 00:16:42,018 --> 00:16:44,018 [Rush Lindell] That's also why this show exists, 334 00:16:44,118 --> 00:16:44,318 [Rush Lindell] Reagan. 335 00:16:44,768 --> 00:16:45,368 [Reagan] It is. 336 00:16:45,868 --> 00:16:48,218 [Rush Lindell] And a President walks into the Oval Office, 337 00:16:48,618 --> 00:16:52,268 [Rush Lindell] CPI hits a three year high at Four-point-two percent, 338 00:16:52,568 --> 00:16:53,318 [Rush Lindell] and he says, 339 00:16:53,468 --> 00:16:55,218 [Rush Lindell] I love the inflation. 340 00:16:55,718 --> 00:16:58,268 [Rush Lindell] Somebody has to say that's not a win. 341 00:16:58,430 --> 00:16:59,730 [Rush Lindell] That's a confession. 342 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:01,280 [Reagan] Yeah, it is. 343 00:17:01,630 --> 00:17:02,730 [Rush Lindell] We'll be right back. 344 00:17:08,126 --> 00:17:10,526 [Rush Lindell] All right, that's a wrap on today's show. 345 00:17:10,676 --> 00:17:11,626 [Rush Lindell] And what a show! 346 00:17:12,126 --> 00:17:14,026 [Rush Lindell] Four words define this whole thing. 347 00:17:14,326 --> 00:17:15,776 [Rush Lindell] I love the inflation. 348 00:17:16,426 --> 00:17:17,476 [Reagan] Four words, 349 00:17:17,876 --> 00:17:18,626 [Reagan] Oval Office, 350 00:17:18,926 --> 00:17:22,576 [Reagan] CPI at 4.2%, the gift that keeps giving. 351 00:17:22,876 --> 00:17:23,926 [Rush Lindell] To Democrats, 352 00:17:23,976 --> 00:17:24,376 [Rush Lindell] apparently. 353 00:17:24,576 --> 00:17:27,326 [Rush Lindell] That was Marjorie Taylor Greene's point, and she's not wrong. 354 00:17:27,826 --> 00:17:28,176 [Reagan] Look, 355 00:17:28,226 --> 00:17:30,276 [Reagan] we separated the two inflations today. 356 00:17:30,826 --> 00:17:34,026 [Reagan] Energy-driven war inflation is real and potentially... 357 00:17:33,854 --> 00:17:34,554 [Reagan] Potentially temporary. 358 00:17:35,154 --> 00:17:39,454 [Reagan] Tariff driven grocery pain that was baked in before the first missile flew. 359 00:17:40,004 --> 00:17:42,354 [Rush Lindell] And the White House's better than Biden defense? 360 00:17:42,354 --> 00:17:42,654 [Speaker 4] Hmm. 361 00:17:42,654 --> 00:17:45,704 [Rush Lindell] We walked through exactly why that clock ran out. 362 00:17:46,104 --> 00:17:48,204 [Reagan] The principled case isn't complicated: 363 00:17:48,604 --> 00:17:50,454 [Reagan] demand a real policy timeline. 364 00:17:50,954 --> 00:17:53,504 [Reagan] Stop treating CPI as a political prop. 365 00:17:53,904 --> 00:17:56,054 [Rush Lindell] Accountability isn't disloyalty. 366 00:17:56,354 --> 00:17:59,454 [Rush Lindell] Say it loud enough and maybe someone in a swing district hears it. 367 00:17:59,614 --> 00:18:00,514 [Reagan] That's the show. 368 00:18:00,714 --> 00:18:01,664 [Rush Lindell] Subscribe, 369 00:18:01,814 --> 00:18:03,014 [Rush Lindell] leave us five stars, 370 00:18:03,314 --> 00:18:04,814 [Rush Lindell] tell a friend who needs to hear this. 371 00:18:05,114 --> 00:18:06,814 [Rush Lindell] New episodes every weekday. 372 00:18:07,014 --> 00:18:07,864 [Rush Lindell] We'll be back tomorrow. 373 00:18:07,864 --> 00:18:10,014 [Reagan] Yeah, thanks for writing this one out with us. 374 00:18:10,064 --> 00:18:10,614 [Reagan] See you then.