Overview
- At a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting, President Trump called Democrats’ focus on affordability a “con job” and “fake narrative,” days after declaring on social media, “I AM THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT.”
- Trump blamed high prices on his predecessor and claimed his administration “fixed inflation,” citing lower gasoline, electricity and beef prices, while Vice President JD Vance echoed that Democrats created the problem.
- Some senior officials broke from the president’s tone, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referring to affordability as a crisis, highlighting mixed signals inside the administration.
- Democrats’ recent off‑year wins were powered by cost‑of‑living messaging, and in Tennessee’s 7th District the GOP held a deep‑red seat but underperformed as the Democrat centered her campaign on affordability.
- Polling and coverage across outlets point to affordability as voters’ top concern, with experts and critics also noting tariffs’ price impacts and warning that dismissing the squeeze could hurt GOP fortunes in the midterms.