By Harold Hutchison, Daily Caller News Foundation | May 27, 2025
Former Trump administration official Steve Moore admitted Tuesday that increased inflation from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump “just isn’t showing up.”
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.3% year-over-year in April, down from 2.4%in March, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Moore said that his prior predictions that the duties would increase inflation were “wrong.”
“I’ve been wrong. I thought these tariffs would cause higher inflation. Tariffs are taxes, and consumers bear some of the cost of that, but it just isn’t showing up in the numbers right now,” Moore told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “It just really isn’t and if you look at any, almost any measure of inflation right now, it’s pretty tame.”
“I mean, somewhere in the 2.5-3% range which is a little bit higher than we want but hardly a catastrophe and I want to make one other quick point,” Moore continued. “There was that slight increase in what was it the 30-year bond interest rate and oh, my god the world’s coming to an end, but that rate isn’t really up much and neither is the 10-year.”
Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs via an April 9 post on Truth Social that also announced substantial increases on tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States, a week after he initially unveiled the duties on imports. Trump later announced a reduction on tariffs on Chinese goods after negotiations in Geneva.
Moore had been critical of the Trump tariffs, telling Fox News host Trey Gowdy during a March 9 Fox News appearance that the tariffs were a mistake, citing the “wobbly economy,” according to The Hill.
“I think that the president’s emphasis on tariffs right now is misguided,” Moore told Gowdy. “We have a very wobbly economy. We saw a not very good jobs report on Friday [March 7]. The consumer confidence numbers are sinking, and other indicators are not positive.”
Consumer confidence increased by 12.3 points in May, the first increase in five months, according to The Conference Board.
Harold Hutchison is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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