President Donald Trump was roundly mocked by political analysts and observers on Tuesday night after giving a meandering speech that was billed to be about affordability.
Trump traveled to Monroe County, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar swing district in the northeastern part of the state, to discuss how his administration was addressing the rising cost of living. The speech was delivered at a time when a recent Politico poll found that 37% of Trump voters said the cost of living is the highest they can remember.
During the speech, Trump blamed the Biden administration for the rising cost of living, citing the pandemic-induced spike in inflation, growing immigration, and other Democratic policies. However, the speech meandered through other topics, including praise for the work of his cabinet secretaries.
Political analysts and observers shared their thoughts on social media.
"Trump's approval is near record lows, dragged down by his approval on the economy, dragged down by his least popular policy ... tariffs," Jon Favreau, a former Obama White House staffer, posted on X. "Affordability tour off to a great start!"
"It only took 20 minutes for Trump’s speech at the NEPA casino to go completely off the rails," J.J. Abbott, executive director of Commonwealth Communications, posted on X. "He can’t even stay focused on a speech about affordability, let alone do anything to help."
"Trump’s economic speech is now cutting more midterm ads for Democrats," Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), posted on X.
"So this 'affordability tour' is a propaganda campaign seeking to gaslight Americans into disbelieving their own lived experience," political analyst Ahmed Baba posted on X. "Trump claims prices are down when they’re up. 37% of his own voters say the cost of living is the worst in memory. This strategy is delusional."
"Miami just elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in 30 years, while Trump is on stage calling affordability a hoax again," social impact entrepreneur Mike Nellis posted on X. "The midterms are going to be fun."