We’ve had a lot of anger and complaint in the last few days about the stock market reactions to Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs with Canada and potential trade wars with Europe. Has the president forgotten why he was elected?

I don’t think he has. CNN reported this morning that inflation for February 2025 was just 0.2 percent — lower than expected. And the annual rate is now down to 2.8 percent.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assured viewers of CBS last week, “We are in the process of deregulating, which will free the supply side, and we are cutting back the government spending.” I think it may be true to say that the velocity of spending is in decline, even if overall commitments through entitlements remain high.

It’s too early to declare victory as an objective fact; inflationary cycles can last a long time, with many false dawns. But at least politically speaking, Trump is probably one or two more reports away from claiming political victory over inflation.