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Numbers of the Day May 14, 2026 · 11:15 am ET Source: NBC News Politics

Highest Business Cost Surge in Four Years, and Trump Isn't Thinking About It

4-year high
monthly surge in businesses' costs, May 2026

Producer costs posted their steepest single-month jump in more than four years — driven by tariff pass-through and an Iran-constricted oil market pushing gas prices higher at the pump. Said Trump, when asked about Americans' financial situation: "I don't think about American financial situation." That quote is the opposition's entire 2026 ad buy. Republicans defending that line in swing districts are playing defense on kitchen-table economics while grocery prices climb alongside energy costs — the exact double-squeeze that flipped the House in 2006 and 2018. The play for Democrats is simple: make every competitive race a local referendum on who's paying the price for decisions made at Mar-a-Lago.

Source: NBC News Politics · link EconomyAffordabilityIran2026Midterms
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