What did Donald Trump do today?

He said nothing about the dramatically worsening economy.

According to the Consumer Price Index report released today, inflation in March rose at an annualized rate of 11.3%, almost six times faster than the target rate of 2%. This was the fifth-highest monthly increase in this century. 

Worse, for American consumers, there are strong indications that this won't be a momentary spike in prices: the fundamental cause is supply chain disruptions from Trump's trade war and especially the Iran crisis, neither of which can be quickly undone. Fertilizer shortages are going to drive up the price of food everywhere for the rest of the growing season. Key industrial products are also spiking in price, which will have a long-term effect on prices. China today banned exports of sulfuric acid, a basic industrial chemical needed in bulk in sectors ranging from agriculture to electronics. The price of plastics have soared too.

Trump himself mostly hid from the public today, scheduling a half day of "executive time" (the Trump administration euphemism for time he spends watching TV, calling friends, or resting in the residence) before taking his usual Friday trip to Florida. None of the social media posts attributed to him addressed the economic elephant in the room, and White House spokespeople were reduced to cherry-picking specific items that haven't gone up in price in an attempt to project confidence.

That's unlikely to work. Consumer confidence is plummeting, to record-low levels in the benchmark University of Michigan survey, for the obvious reason that most Americans can see with their own eyes what is happening to prices—especially for things like gas, which is now at $4.15/gallon on average and well over $5 in cities. 

When he is willing to talk about the economy, Trump continues to insist that Americans don't really care about the things they need being affordable.

Why does this matter?

• Problems do not go away just because a president doesn't want to think about them.