Band played in China but ‘dumpster fire’ awaits Trump at home

US President Donald Trump returned from the spectacle of a Chinese state visit to an unwelcoming US economy – with military fanfare and garden tours in Beijing giving way to pressures over how to address his country’s rising inflation rate.

U.S. consumer inflation rose to 3.8% annually in April, higher than what it inherited when the war in Iran and tariffs imposed by the Republican president pushed up prices.

Inflation now outpaces wage gains and impoverishes workers.

The Cleveland Federal Reserve estimates that annual inflation could reach 4.2% in May as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.

It seems unlikely that Trump’s time with Chinese leader Xi Jinping will do much to help the U.S. economy, despite Trump’s claims of upcoming trade deals.

The trip came as many people are voting in primaries leading up to the November general election while also having to absorb rising costs for gasoline, groceries, utility bills, jewelry, women’s clothing, airline tickets and delivery services.

Democrats see this moment as a political opportunity.

“It’s coming back to a dumpster fire,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank focused on economic issues.

“The president will not have the faith and trust of the American people – the economy is their number one problem and the president is saying, ‘You are on your own.'”

The president’s trip to Beijing and his recent comments revealing a deafness to voters’ concerns about rising prices suggest he is not focused on the American public and have undermined Republicans who intended to campaign on last year’s tax cuts to help families.

Trump described the trip as a victory, saying on social media that Xi “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes”, just as the US president praised their relationship.

Trump told reporters that Boeing would sell 200 planes – and maybe even 750 “if they do a good job” – to the Chinese. He said American farmers would be “very happy” because China would “buy billions of dollars of soybeans.”

“We had a great time,” Trump said as he flew home aboard Air Force One, and told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that gasoline prices were only a “short-term pain” and would “drop like a rock” once the war was over.

Inflationary pain not a factor in how Trump handles Iran

Trump left the White House for China, saying negotiations over the war in Iran depended on Tehran stopping its development of nuclear weapons.

“I’m not thinking about the financial situation of Americans. I’m not thinking about anyone. I’m thinking about one thing: We can’t let Iran have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.

The remark sparked backlash because it suggested to some that Trump was more concerned with challenging Iran than fighting inflation at home.

Trump defended his comments, telling Fox News: “It’s a perfect statement. I would make it again.”

The White House has since emphasized that Trump is focused on inflation.

When asked later about the president’s remarks, Vice President JD Vance said there had been a “misrepresentation” of the remarks.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said “the administration remains focused on growth and affordability on the home front,” while indicating action would be taken on food prices.

But as Trump appeared alongside Xi, new reports at home showed rising inflation for businesses and rising interest rates on U.S. government debt.

His comments that Boeing would sell 200 planes to China sent the company’s stock price tumbling as investors expected a larger number.

Little concrete information was provided on trade deals reached at the summit, including Chinese purchases of U.S. exports such as liquefied natural gas and beef.

“Foreign policy victories can matter politically, but only if voters feel stability and affordability in their daily lives,” said Brittany Martinez, a former Republican congressional aide and executive director of Principles First, a center-right advocacy group focused on democracy issues.

“Midterm elections are almost always a referendum on the cost of living and public frustration, and Republicans are not immune to the same inflationary and affordable pressures that have hurt Democrats in recent cycles,” she added.

Democrats view Trump as vulnerable

Democratic lawmakers are seizing on Trump’s comments before his trip as evidence of his indifference to lower costs.

His remarks could linger as Americans head into Memorial Day weekend, facing rising prices for grilling hamburgers and hot dogs.

“What Americans don’t see is any sympathy or support or plan from Trump and congressional Republicans to cut costs — in fact, they see the opposite,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday.

Vance blamed the Biden administration for the inflation problem, even though the inflation rate is now higher than it was when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 with a specific mandate to address it.

“The inflation numbers last month were not great,” Vance said Wednesday, but then he emphasized, “We’re not seeing anything like what we saw under the Biden administration.”

Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, a Democrat. By the time Trump was sworn in, that figure was much more modest than 3 percent.

Trump’s inflation challenge could get tougher

The data tells a different story, as rising inflation is reflected in the cost of servicing the national debt.

Over the past week, the interest rate on 10-year U.S. government debt rose to 4.6% from 4.36%, an increase that implies higher costs for auto loans and mortgages.

“My fear is that the multiple supply shocks affecting the U.S. economy will only further fuel inflationary pressures,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon.

Daco noted that last year’s tariff increases were now translating into higher clothing prices. While the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s ability to impose tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, his administration is preparing a new round of import taxes for this summer.

Daco pointed out that there had been a series of supply shocks. First, tariffs have reduced the supply of imported products.

Additionally, Trump’s immigration crackdown has reduced the supply of foreign-born workers.

Today, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off the vital waterway used to transport 20% of the world’s oil reserves.

“We are seeing an erosion of growth,” Daco said.