Reports of ‘hidden force’ quietly pushing up US costs - but everyone’s saying the same thing | indy100

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According to a tweet from ABC News on Sunday, there is a “hidden force” which is “quietly pushing up costs for everything from your summer vacation to your weekly grocery bills”. And while the article attached to the post argues it’s down to a “weaker US dollar”, many people on social media believe something else is to blame: US president Donald Trump.

With average regular gas prices surging to $4.483 on Tuesday (up from less than $3 before the US and Israel’s war on Iran began, per Al Jazeera), the Republican continues to face criticism over his actions in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the cost of groceries has long been an issue for a politician who promised in August 2024 that “when [he wins]” the US presidential election that year, he would “immediately bring prices down”.

And so, when people came across the post over the weekend, a lot of people ended up saying the same thing:

Calvin Froedge, founder of the maritime data platform Marhelm, tweeted sarcastically: “Yes, it’s that mysterious, hidden dynamic, not that we attacked Iran and screwed up the global economy”:

New York Times opinion writer and podcaster Matthew Yglesias wrote: “Call it the Trump Effect”:

“Idiotic tariffs and closing the Strait of Hormuz,” one account replied in all caps:

Another said: “That hidden force is called ‘TRUMP’”:

“Why are you calling Donald Trump a ‘hidden force’,” asked a third:

And a fourth questioned just how hidden the force was with a meme:

Speaking at a small business summit at the White House on Monday, Trump said he sees gas prices “going down very substantial” when the war is over.

“I think very rapidly, too – at levels that you’ve never seen,” he added.

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