President Donald Trump made it clear on Tuesday that America’s so-called affordability crisis is nothing more than a Democrat talking point despite concerns from his own supporters.
The president opened his Cabinet meeting by highlighting what his administration has done to lower prices.
He said the country is seeing real relief. Energy prices are down. Gas is down. Electricity is coming down. Trump said that when electricity drops, everything else follows.
Trump then ripped Democrats for pushing the idea of an affordability crisis under his presidency. He called the entire message a scam.
He told his Cabinet that “the word affordability is a Democrat scam” and said Democrats pretend to care about prices before quickly changing the subject. Trump stressed that Biden presided over the worst inflation in American history.
He said Democrats have been trying to correct him, even though he is “right about everything.” He said some try to argue the inflation spike only goes back 48 years, but Trump dismissed the criticism.
The pushback from Trump comes as a new Daily Mail and J.L. Partners poll shows rising prices remain the top concern for voters. Cost of living, health care and job creation are the biggest issues nationwide.
Trump said his administration “stopped inflation in its tracks” since January. He said more work remains, but inflation is now at a “very good level.”
Democrats have been leaning heavily on affordability messaging after a wave of liberal victories in November. New York Mayor-elect and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani centered his entire campaign on lowering prices. Democrats also won major races in Virginia and New Jersey by focusing on inflation.
Trump told his Cabinet that Democrats are pushing a “fake narrative” and that the word affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody” when used by liberals.
He reminded the room that he inherited the worst inflation in history. He said nobody could afford anything under Biden and that prices were “massively high.”
Trump pointed to gas and grocery prices as proof that his administration has lowered costs. AAA reports the national average price for gas is $2.99. It was $3.05 at this time last year, per the Daily Mail.
He also said the cost of Thanksgiving dinner had dropped compared to last year.
Mortgage prices could be next. Trump said rates should fall soon, even with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in place. He called Powell “incompetent” and “a real dope,” and reminded everyone he is considering replacing him early next year.
Vice President J.D. Vance later clarified Trump’s comments. He agreed there is an affordability crisis, but said Biden created it. Vance said every major affordability issue facing Americans today can be traced directly to Biden and Democrats in Congress.
Vance told Trump that the administration has made “incredible progress” but said it is impossible to fix the damage of the last four years in just 10 months. Vance said the administration has done “incredibly good.”
Conservatives on social media have criticized the president over his largely stagnant effect on the economy since taking office. Some have accused him of giving control of the GOP to Bush-era Republicans.
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon shared an article from the Daily Mail on Truth Social indicating that the president is losing support among young voters over the relatively high cost of living.
“Eight months since his inauguration, the honeymoon looks to be over – and it is traceable largely to one issue: the cost of living,” Bannon cited.
