A former senior adviser to Kamala Harris was left visibly flustered during a live television segment after he failed to accurately answer a basic question about the current U.S. inflation rate.
During a Friday appearance on Fox News‘ America Reports, anchor Sandra Smith pressed Mike Nellis, once a Senior Advisor to former Vice President Harris, on the latest economic data, asking, ‘Do you know what the inflation rate is?’
‘Yeah, it’s like about three or four percent,’ Nellis responded.
But Smith quickly fired back, correcting him.
‘No. It’s below three. And it’s been a long time since it’s gotten there. I mean, you’re looking at 2.5 percent inflation now.’
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7 percent year-over-year in June.
While slightly above Smith’s figure, the inflation rate has remained below 3 percent for several consecutive months, reflecting a significant cooldown from its 9.1 percent peak in June 2022 – the highest in four decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite the data, Nellis insisted that inflation continues to rise.
During a Friday appearance on Fox News’ America Reports, anchor Sandra Smith pressed Mike Nellis, once a Senior Advisor to former Vice President Harris, on the latest economic data, asking, ‘Do you know what the inflation rate is?’
The tense exchange came just days after the Democratic Party had its own messaging blunder when its official X account, formerly Twitter, posted a graphic blaming inflation from 2021 to 2024 on ‘Trump’s America’ – even though Joe Biden and Harris (pictured) were in charge the whole time
‘Inflation is still going up,’ he said. ‘And it’s rising, according to the latest stats.’
‘That’s not the case,’ Smith countered. ‘Inflation has come down. Inflation by nature is growth in prices, but the growth has slowed.’
Earlier in the segment, Nellis blamed Republicans and President Donald Trump for ongoing economic concerns.
‘Right now the president of the United States is Donald Trump. Republicans are in control of Congress,’ Nellis said. ‘They’re currently in recess rather than doing anything about inflation.’
He went on to claim that beef and alcohol prices hit record highs over the July 4 weekend and criticized Trump’s promises to reduce prices immediately after taking office.
‘Donald Trump promised to make grocery prices go down on day one,’ Nellis said. ‘We’re six months in and everything’s more expensive.’
Smith pushed back, noting that ‘prices have definitely come down,’ but that ‘they can go down more.’
Meanwhile, some economic indicators suggest relief for American consumers, according to AAA, average gas prices hit a four-year low in June.
The tense exchange came just days after the Democratic Party had its own messaging blunder when its official X account posted a graphic blaming inflation from 2021 to 2024 on ‘Trump’s America’ – even though Joe Biden and Harris were in charge the whole time.
The post later deleted.
Earlier in the segment, Nellis blamed Republicans and President Donald Trump for ongoing economic concerns
The White House later shared the same graphic again, this time fixing the mistake and crediting the Biden administration. Pictured: President Donald Trump speaks after he arrived in Ayrshire, Scotland
Mike Nellis (pictured), once a Senior Advisor to former Vice President Kamala Harris, insisted that inflation continues to rise
The White House later shared the same graphic again, this time fixing the mistake and crediting the Biden administration.
That slip-up highlights the tough spot Democrats are in as they face growing criticism over the party’s handling of the economy.
A new Wall Street Journal poll this week showed that 63 percent of voters view the Democratic Party unfavorably – the worst rating they’ve seen in 35 years.
Just 33 percent said they view the party favorably, and only 8 percent said they had a ‘very favorable’ view, according to the poll.
In contrast, Republicans, while also viewed more unfavorably than favorably, had stronger numbers – sitting at just 19 percent.
President Trump’s job approval stands at 46 percent, higher than the 40 percent approval rating he received at the same point in his first term, according to the WSJ.
When asked which party they trusted more on major issues such as inflation, tariffs, and immigration, voters consistently favored Republicans.
‘The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,’ Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who conducted the WSJ poll with Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, said.
‘Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they’re for and what their economic message is, they’re going to have problems.’
Republicans currently hold a financial edge as well, with campaign filings showing the Republican National Committee has over $80 million on hand, compared to $15 million held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the WSJ reported.
