Former First Lady, U.S. senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton summed up her case against President Donald Trump’s economic record in five words on Friday. She posted a short message on X, attached two news stories, and let the numbers do the rest. The post came on the day the government released the last official jobs report before the November midterm elections, and as a war with Iran that began on Feb. 28 continues to push energy prices higher.
The Post
Clinton published the post on X at 9:47 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. Its full text reads:
“Trump’s economy in two headlines.”
She attached two articles: a CNN report on the September jobs numbers and an ABC News story on a think-tank analysis of household energy costs under Trump’s policies.
The First Headline: A Weak Jobs Report
The first article covered data the Bureau of Labor Statistics released at 8:30 a.m. ET, about 77 minutes before Clinton’s post. The BLS reported that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 29,000 in September and that the unemployment rate was 4.2%, up from 4.1%. The agency said employment in all major industries changed little over the month. It also said the unemployment rate has stayed in a narrow band of 4.1% to 4.3% since March.
Revisions, Slower Wages and Missed Expectations
CNN reported that the economy added just 29,000 jobs and that recent months’ hiring was weaker than previously thought. Annual wage growth slowed for a fourth straight month to 3%, the lowest since May 2021, according to the report. Employers were expected to add about 90,000 jobs. The BLS revised July to a loss of 10,000 jobs, down from a previously reported gain of 21,000. It revised August down to a gain of 133,000 from 162,000, leaving the two months a combined 60,000 lower than first reported.
Economists Point to Inflation
Economists quoted by CNN pointed to the squeeze on household budgets. “Wage growth fell to a new 5-year low and is being wiped out entirely by inflation,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Friday. Mike Reid, head of U.S. economics at RBC Capital Markets, said tariffs and energy costs are feeding inflation. “The real challenge for the US economy is the inflation pipeline is heating up,” he said. LinkedIn chief economist Kory Kantenga described a labor market that is holding up but remains slow, with job seekers showing low confidence. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 5.21% after the report, still near multi-year highs.
The Second Headline: Energy Costs Through 2040
The second article reported on modeling released Friday by Energy Innovation, a California-based think tank. The analysis found that households in the contiguous United States will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040, because of federal policy changes since Trump returned to office. In Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming, the figure is roughly $9,000. Oregon’s cumulative increase of $9,300 from 2026 to 2040 is the highest of any state. The study cited the cancellation of new wind, solar and hydrogen projects, the rollback of clean-energy tax credits, looser fuel economy standards and other environmental rollbacks.
The White House Response
The White House disputed the findings. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and that Trump is unleashing reliable energy such as coal and natural gas. “Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. She also called it “irresponsible” to describe Energy Innovation as nonpartisan, citing employees’ donations to Democrats. Energy Innovation spokesman Silvio Marcacci said the group works with policymakers of any party and that multiple Republican-led states have used its modeling tool. The report noted that three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors, and that average residential electricity prices rose during Biden’s term and have continued to rise under Trump, according to Energy Information Administration data.
The Iran War and the Price at the Pump
The energy story is tied to the war. The U.S. average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.46 in late September, and Brent crude traded at $102 a barrel, even as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz neared prewar levels. Gas prices peaked at $4.56 in May, eased as the U.S. and Iran reached an interim deal in June, and climbed again as fighting intensified in July. Trump told a North Carolina rally this month that rising gas prices were “a very inexpensive price to pay” in the confrontation with Iran.
Clinton’s Record of Criticism
Clinton has been one of the most prominent Democratic critics of Trump’s handling of Iran. In an interview with David Remnick at New York’s 92nd Street Y, held after the administration announced a memorandum of understanding to end the war, Clinton was asked whether the U.S. lost. She answered: “Yes. The United States has come out weaker. Iran has come out stronger.” In the same conversation she described Trump as a threat of authoritarianism and said Joe Biden made a mistake by seeking a second term.
A Long-Standing Critic on Iran Policy
Her objections to Trump’s Iran policy predate the current war. In 2017, as Trump moved to decertify the 2015 nuclear agreement that she helped set in motion as Obama’s secretary of state, Clinton told CNN the move “makes us look foolish and small and plays right into Iranian hands.” She served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee against Trump.
Other Democrats Make the Same Argument
Other Democrats have tied the economy to the war and to Trump’s tariffs. Last December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that Trump’s “chaotic tariffs and failed economic policies are hammering the labor market.” In July, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X that gas prices were back above $4 and that the “Republican war of choice” was making life more expensive.
The Midterm Stakes
The timing matters politically. The midterm elections are on Nov. 3, and Friday’s report was the last employment snapshot voters will see before then. On the prediction market Polymarket, traders put the probability of a Democratic House majority at 91%, up from 73% in May. Other Polymarket pages have shown figures as high as 93%. Prediction markets are not polls and can move quickly, but they show how investors are pricing the political fallout from the economy and the war.
What Comes Next
Trump has campaigned on an economic revival. The Washington Times described the 29,000-job figure as a disappointing turn for a president touting an “economic renaissance” before the midterms. The Federal Reserve meets later this month, and traders pulled back bets on a rate hike after Friday’s numbers. The BLS is scheduled to publish the October employment report on Nov. 6, three days after the election.