Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. economy is humming along under his stewardship is baffling conservative analysts and some allies who claim the numbers don’t pencil out for them.
On Truth Social, in an interview with Politico, and during a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the president has been boasting that he gives himself an “A+++++” for his handling of economic matters at the same time that he has been refusing to share economic numbers numbers and Americans are raising the alarm that they cannot pay their bills because of rising costs.
According to a report from USA Today on Thursday, “Nearly 3 in 10 of voters polled said they held off getting medical care over the past year because of costs. One-third said they have skipped a meal. Two-thirds of respondents said they are buying cheaper groceries or buying less food, while half said they dipped into savings to cover basic expenses.”
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With that in mind, Politico is reporting that conservative economists are parting ways with the president over his self-grading.
One former senior Trump official who has maintained ties to the Oval Office undercut the president by complaining, “I don’t see things as great at all. I don’t even see it as an A.”
Former President George W. Bush economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin awarded Trump a dismissive “gentleman’s C,” and pointed out, “Fair growth, not great labor market, inflation problem — it’s hard to get an A+++ out of that.”
Politico’s Ben Johansen and Irie Sentner wrote, “Trump has spent the last several months bashing the issue of affordability as a 'hoax' constructed by Democrats and the media — and on Tuesday, he took that messaging on the road. In a 97-minute speech at a Pennsylvania casino, he mocked the word 'affordability' and that he’s no longer 'allowed' to say it, then veered into an anti-immigration tirade,” before adding, “But a majority of Americans, including many Trump supporters, say the strain on their wallets is real.”
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