President Donald Trump made the first stop this week in a planned nationwide tour to reassure Americans about the cost of living, but his off-script message concerned other Republicans.
The president's high-profile economic speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania was meant to cheer up voters and reset his economic message, but instead his meandering, 90-minute remarks deepened GOP fears that his inability to connect on the issue would send the party for a midterm election wipeout, reported CNN.
“The first thing in terms of recovery is acknowledging there’s a problem,” said GOP strategist Matthew Bartlett, a first-term Trump official. “Being an ostrich in politics and putting your head in the sand is never a good strategy, much less a winning strategy.”
Trump insisted the economy is booming – and gave himself an "A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus" grade on the issue in an interview – and claimed prices are falling, and he blamed voter anxiety is a Democratic "hoax" and also encouraged Americans to accept living with less.
“Telling people they don’t know what’s going on in their lives is a mistake, and that won’t work,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum. “But he’s not going to change his tune, and his tune is not helpful at the moment.”
Trump's support on economic issues has sharply declined in polling and Democrats have outperformed their 2024 results over and over in elections this year, so Republicans are scrambling to revamp their affordability message as the White House preaches patience.
“President Trump is stamping out Biden inflation for good, and we fully expect it to roll down next year,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of Trump’s speech. “Where Biden created scarcity, President Trump is creating abundance.”
Trump made brief allusions to the White House's new message on affordability, acknowledging that prices "were" high at one point but declared "we're bringing them down," but that's not enough for Republicans facing re-election next year.
“A lot of people are still having trouble making ends meet," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
MAGA Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) defended the president's speech, saying Trump was forced to comment on an issue amplified by the media, but he declined to endorse his view on the economy.
"He’s pushing back the other way," Marshall said.