President Donald Trump on Wednesday said, "I love the inflation" after being asked if he was concerned about new consumer price index data that showed the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, a three-year high.
Trump, speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, also predicted that inflation is "going to come down like a rock" after the United States' war against Iran is over. The president linked that prediction to a confusing statement about the U.S. "taking" oil and ships.
"No, I love it, the numbers were great," Trump said when a reporter asked him about the CPI number issued earlier in the morning.
"You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why?" Trump said. "Because as soon as this war is over, you know I can say it now ... you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil."
"Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now," Trump said.
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"We took out the other night, 22 ships, late at night, with no lights, because they don't have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it," the president said. "That's why oil is at $85 a barrel."
"We've been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night," Trump said.
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by "taking out" oil and ships, and how that related to consumer prices.
CNBC has requested comment from the White House and the Department of Energy.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was testifying at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, said that he was not aware of the U.S. taking millions of barrels out of Iran, the Reuters news agency reported.
Wright said the U.S. military had helped some oil tankers transit the Straight of Hormuz, the waterway between Iran and Oman, and that oil traffic has risen "very meaningfully" through the strait in the past week, Reuters reported.
While the CPI on Wednesday showed annual inflation at a three-year high, core inflation, which excludes the cost of food and energy, was at 2.9% annually. That is in line with forecasts by economists.
But Trump's comments on inflation come as his fellow Republicans fear that consumer angst over rising prices will hurt the chances of GOP lawmakers retaining their slim majorities in both chambers of Congress in November's elections.
Trump in May raised eyebrows when he told reporters, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation" as he argued that his focus in the war on Iran was ensuring that the Islamic Republic does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Several Democrats quickly posted a video of Trump's latest comments on inflation on social media.
"People can't afford to feed their families. Your struggle is a joke to him," wrote Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on X,
Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, also tweeted the video, with the message: " 'I love the inflation' - Donald Trump."
Democratic strategist Jon Cooper, in his own X post on the video, said, "The ads write themselves."
— CNBC's Megan Casella contributed to this article
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