Rubbish Check
ABC News Business · 26 October 2026
source“Trump failed to stop inflation. Now Republicans may pay the price in the midterms”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates ABC News' claim that "Trump failed to stop inflation" a 2/10 because inflation rose from 3.0% when he took office to 3.7% in the latest reading, directly contradicting his 2024 vow to "end inflation."
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline's two claims both check out against the article's own numbers and quotes: inflation did not end, it rose, and a Trump-aligned economist is quoted using almost the exact phrase in the second half of the headline. The only editorial choice is foregrounding the negative inflation story over the administration's other economic claims, but given the piece is explicitly about cost-of-living politics ahead of the midterms, that's a defensible scope, not spin.
What actually happened
The article reports that annual inflation stood at 3.0% when Trump took office and has since risen to 3.7%, undercutting his 2024 campaign pledge to end inflation. It documents rising gas, mortgage and diesel costs squeezing households, and quotes voters, union leaders, Democratic candidates and a former Trump economic adviser all pointing to the same affordability squeeze as a midterm risk for Republicans.
Key facts
- Inflation was 3.0% when Trump took office in January 2025 and inflation was 3% when Trump took office and reached 3.7% last month, per the article's BLS-sourced figures.
- Trump publicly claims inflation is "under 2%" and "under control," a figure the article flags as a mischaracterization of the actual 3.7% reading.
- Filling a Ford F-150 now costs about $100, up $30 year-over-year, per the article.
- Consumer prices have outpaced paycheck growth for 12 straight months, per the article.
- Trump's 2024 campaign promise, directly quoted: "With your vote in this election, I will end inflation."
- Stephen Moore, a former Trump economic adviser, is quoted saying "Republicans may pay a high price for that," nearly mirroring the headline's second clause.
- Independent CPI tracking corroborates the broader trend: year-over-year inflation was 3.0% in Biden's last partial month in office in January 2025, confirming the article's baseline figure.
What to watch for
- Whether the next CPI print, due before election day, lands above or below 3.7%, which will either sharpen or soften the midterm narrative.
- Whether tariff-driven price increases (noted elsewhere in coverage of this period) get more scrutiny as the specific mechanism behind the rise, rather than inflation being treated as a single undifferentiated number.
- How the actual midterm results compare to the "may pay the price" prediction, since the headline is a hedge, not a certainty.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
