What my vacation showed me about high prices at home

Welcome back, Translating Politics readers, and thanks for your patience while I took the last two weeks off.

I just spent 10 days vacationing on Bonaire, a Dutch Caribbean island of about 28,000 people about 50 miles north of Venezuela. I went there, knowing Bonaire is a paradise for scuba divers and snorkelers, with expansive coral reefs teeming with tropical fish and sea turtles just a few yards off of the island's rocky beaches.

What I didn't expect – and was delighted to find – were the feral donkeys who roam the island's arid, wind-swept, cactus-dotted interior. But the donkeys were clearly expecting me. They walk right up to people, hoping for treats.

So off to the supermarket we went to buy bags of carrots to keep in our rental car for donkey encounters. I noticed at the market that shopping in Bonaire is not cheap. That's because most products arrive by boat or airplane, and shipping increases costs.

We don't have that excuse for much of what we buy in America. But our prices are also on the rise. You've probably noticed that too.

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President Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran – which he keeps insisting is close to ending while he also launches new attacks during an alleged "ceasefire" – has had a world-wide impact on the price of gasoline, cooking fuel, fertilizer and many other things we buy every day.

Trump could care less.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index, released June 10, showed prices in May jumped 4.2% over May 2025, the largest increase in three years. Trump was asked about inflation just after the report dropped and offered this: "The numbers are great. I love inflation."

Trump's reasoning – if you dare call it that – is based on his claim that America has been secreting out of Iran millions of barrels of oil during his war and his prediction that inflation "will come down like a rock" when the war ends.

Those comments came two days after Trump tried to claim gasoline is now less expensive than when Joe Biden was president. While the price has fluctuated during Trump's war, a CNN fact-check of the claim found that the average cost of gas right now is higher than during 91% of Biden's term as president.

This is important stuff to track and write about. But it really makes me miss wandering around an island with a bag of carrots, in search of friendly donkeys.

Here's what else we're writing about:

• The Bidens stir up voter anxiety Democrats can't afford
• Pratt lost because he was a laughable candidate. Period.
• The GOP will fund anything – unless it actually helps people
• Trump says 'Cuba is next.' My family says it's complicated.