Donald Trump has attempted to claim the concerns about affordability undermining his presidency are a "hoax" and a "con job." Still, in a new piece from the Los Angeles Times, seniors struggling with food insecurity pushed back against this idea, citing their increasingly harsh circumstances.
“I would say, ‘Mr. President, please travel with me," Los Angeles retiree Frank McRae said when asked what he would tell the president. "So that you can experience firsthand… what it means to have to search for affordable food."
McRae, an 81-year-old veteran, spoke to the Times at a community center run by Jewish Family Service LA, which offers food and other resources to what the paper described as "growing legions of people in need." He provided a straightforward explanation for why he personally believes that the cost-of-living crisis is worsening, despite Trump's claims.
“I know more people are coming in here now, because I’m seeing people I’ve never seen,” McRae explained.
McRae further detailed how he makes the most of what little he has, taking as many as three buses to get from his apartment to a McDonald's he says has the cheapest coffee he has found, $0.87 with a senior discount. The apartment, which lacks a kitchen of its own, also recently saw a rent increase to $900 a month from $863.
Another struggling senior at the community center, Christina Shannon, detailed how she's had to cut back on some of her favorite foods as the costs of all around her have gone up.
“Instead of a pack of bacon,” she explained, “I go to the deli and get like four slices... I go buy medicine, and it’s a little bit higher. And I went to the drugstore to get toothpaste and washing powder. It’s all so high.”
Affordability troubles are widely credited with driving major electoral gains for Democrats this year, with candidates using economic platforms to win big races in places like New Jersey, Virginia and New York City last month. Despite campaigning on cost-of-living issues in 2024, Trump has now dismissed affordability concerns as a "hoax" perpetuated by Democrats to make him look bad, while falsely claiming that prices on everything from groceries to gas to utilities have gone down in the last year.
In his piece for the Times, Steve Lopez gave two guesses as to why Trump might be saying such things despite overwhelming voter sentiments about the economy.
"I can think of two explanations as to why Trump said 'just about everything is down' pricewise, and that affordability is 'a Democrat hoax' and 'the greatest con job,'" Lopez wrote. "Either Trump truly has no idea what things cost, other than, say, the $300-million ballroom he’s having built after bulldozing the East Wing of the White House. Or, after striking out on a fundamental campaign promise ('From the day I take the oath of office, we’ll rapidly drive prices down and make America affordable again… You just watch'), Trump is once again creating his own reality."