‘A bigger lie' John Harwood slams Steve Scalise's claims of America experiencing a 'golden age'

House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Tuesday told reporters that the country is "actually experiencing a golden age again," ushered in by Republicans, and it will be up to the voters in November to choose if they want to keep living in it or let Democrats bring a "Bolshevik Revolution". Since Scalise's bold claims did not entirely match the data on the ground, journalist and political commentator John Harwood called him out as a liar. 

Addressing the press alongside Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Scalise highlighted the work of House Republicans for working families in the country. “This is a country that's actually experiencing a golden age again. I mean, gas prices are down 50 cents from where they were just a few weeks ago and continuing to go down. Affordability is back again. And Democrats are upset about that. Because they wanted it as a talking point for November," Scalise said. Sharing a clip of his remarks, Harwood gave a strong rebuke on X as he wrote: "If one lie doesn't work, tell a bigger one."

While Harwood and Scalise claim the opposite, the big picture isn't as black-and-white. According to the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, inflation in the U.S. rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked. Last week, the Commerce Department's data showed consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, marking the largest annual increase since April 2023. Every month, inflation was up 0.4%, matching April’s increase but down from March's 0.7%. However, the increase was largely driven by more expensive gas, and those prices are coming down. 

Following the interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran, oil prices have dropped to nearly pre-war levels, and according to the American Automobile Association, the average price of gas stood at $3.847, down from last week's average of $3.926, not as much as Scalise's claims, but the trajectory is pointing down. According to the Associated Press, declining gas prices will bring down headline inflation in the coming months, but apart from the volatile energy prices, core prices also rose 3.4% in May, up from the 3.3% increase in April, raising concerns for consumers.

On the other hand, declining gas prices also boosted consumer sentiment as the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose 0.6 points to 91.2 in June. While it remained below the 95.2 reading from the same month a year ago, consumers still appear willing to keep spending on the economy as expenditure rose 0.3% from April to May. Furthermore, inflation-adjusted incomes also rose for the first time in four months, picking up 0.3%, another factor that could bolster consumer spending in coming months. A separate report from the Commerce Department released last week showed the economy expanded at a 2.1% annual rate in the first three months of the year, an upgrade from a previous estimate of 1.6%, with the number of people seeking unemployment benefits falling last week.