President Donald Trump offered a "revealing" window into his economic messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections while speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, according to one of the pool reporters.
The economy is shaping up to be the top issue in the 2026 midterm elections, and Republicans are quietly urging Trump to spend more time on American jobs rather than foreign affairs, The New York Times reported on Monday. Instead, Trump appears tobe throwing more chaos into the economy by attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Times reporter Katie Rogers pressed Trump on his economy during the president's recent travel, and what he said to her revealed something surprising.
Rogers said she left with the impression that Trump is not convinced people are suffering. If they are, it's "not his fault," she told the Times.
"It is, far and away, the topic that American voters care the most about," she said, referring to the economy. "It is a major reason that the president was elected a second time. It is what has carried Democrats to victory in some closely watched recent elections. Even Republicans are warning that voters feel that the White House is more focused on international entanglements than American jobs."
"The fact that the president outright dismissed those warnings and then blamed his predecessor — even though this president is a year into his second term — was revealing," she added.