Bessent Slams Warren’s ‘Trumpflation’ Tracker as ‘Statistical Sleight of Hand’

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has strongly criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s new “Trumpflation” tracker, accusing the Massachusetts Democrat of using selective data to obscure improvements in American purchasing power under President Donald Trump. In a statement released Friday, Bessent called Warren’s approach a “statistical sleight of hand” and a failure to provide a serious assessment of the U.S. economy.

Warren’s Tracker and Bessent’s Response

Warren’s dashboard, launched earlier this week, reports cumulative inflation of 5.2 percent since December 2024 and estimates that higher prices have cost the average household an additional $3,388. The tracker includes data on groceries, gasoline, electricity, rent, health coverage, and child care. However, Bessent argued that the method used by Warren is flawed and selectively highlights data that does not reflect the full economic picture.

Bessent’s response includes an affordability tracker that compares inflation, wages, and household income under Trump and Biden. According to the Treasury secretary, inflation-adjusted weekly wages have risen 1.5 percent since January 2025, compared to a 3.9 percent decline under Biden. Bessent also pointed out that Warren’s wage measure excludes earlier months of Trump’s presidency, leading to a shorter time frame that does not capture the full trend.

Core Inflation and Other Metrics

Bessent’s chart reports that core inflation under Trump was 2.5 percent, compared to 4.7 percent under Biden. Core inflation excludes food and energy, and the chart also notes that August’s year-over-year core inflation rate was 2.4 percent, the lowest since March 2021. For groceries, the administration reports a 2.1 percent annualized price increase under Trump, compared to 5.3 percent under Biden. Rent inflation is listed at 3.0 percent under Trump and 5.6 percent under Biden.

Bessent also criticized Warren’s health care calculation, which reports a 14.6 percent increase in employee contributions toward family health insurance. He noted that the dashboard does not use the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ medical-care consumer price index, instead using projected figures that may not accurately reflect real-world costs.

Broader Household Financial Trends

The Treasury secretary’s chart highlights record inflation-adjusted median household income of $87,460 in 2025, up 2.6 percent, compared to a 1.9 percent increase over Biden’s four years. The official poverty rate for 2025 is listed at 10.2 percent. Bessent also pointed to employment data, noting one million additional private-sector jobs and a reduction of 328,000 in the federal workforce.

Source: Breitbart

Written by

Connor Davis