President Trump on Tuesday downplayed the cost-of-living pains being felt by Americans, declaring that “affordability doesn’t mean anything to anybody” as his political edge on the economy continues to dissipate.
In remarks during a cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump railed against Democrats who have championed the issue, which helped the party secure several off-year election victories last month and is likely to be a defining topic in the midterms next year.
After ticking off what he claimed were trillions of dollars of investments and record employment numbers, Mr. Trump called the issue of affordability a “fake narrative” and “con job” created by Democrats to dupe the public.
“They just say the word,” he said. “It doesn’t mean anything to anybody. You just say it — affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything.”
Mr. Trump reprised his attacks on former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who he said had left him a failing economy and high inflation. But in dismissing stubbornly high costs, Mr. Trump risks finding himself in the same trap that Mr. Biden did — insisting that Americans are not experiencing the sticker shock that polls have consistently shown they are feeling.
Mr. Trump has prided himself on bringing down inflation while glossing over the fact that it is contributing to high costs, like his tariffs.
“There is still more to do,” Mr. Trump acknowledged on Tuesday. “There’s always more to do, but we have it down to a very good level. It’s going to go down a little bit further. You want to have a little tiny bit of inflation. Otherwise, that’s not good either. Then you have a thing called deflation, and deflation can be worse than inflation.”
Mr. Trump’s comments underscored how he has struggled to wrest back the messaging of affordability, vacillating between dismissing it — “I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” he proclaimed last month — and trying to cast himself as the solution.
Just this past weekend, Mr. Trump posted a lengthy social media message boosting his efforts to lower prescription drug costs, which concluded: “If this story is properly told, we should win the Midterm Elections in RECORD NUMBERS. I AM THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT. TALK LOUDLY AND PROUDLY!”
Affordability was also a topic of conversation — and agreement — during his meeting last month with Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City. Mr. Mamdani built a campaign centered on cost-of-living issues.
“You know, we had some interesting conversation, and some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” Mr. Trump said after the meeting. “A big thing on cost. The new word is ‘affordability.’ Another word, it’s just groceries. It’s sort of an old-fashioned word, but it’s very accurate. They are coming down.”
But on Tuesday, Mr. Trump was back to calling affordability a “Democrat scam,” even as members of his cabinet sought to offer some comfort that the administration was addressing the subject.
“I think for congressional Democrats, in particular, if they want to talk about affordability, they ought to look in the mirror,” Vice President JD Vance said. “We are fixing what they’ve broken. We’re proud to do it. It’s the job that we are elected to do. But I think 2026 is going to be the year where this economy really takes off.”
Members of the administration have also said that as Mr. Trump prepares to ramp up messaging about his affordability agenda in the coming months, they would be careful to avoid the mistakes of Mr. Biden, whose “Bidenomics” messaging fell flat with voters.
Kevin Hassett, a top White House economic adviser, told reporters last month that “Trumponomics works and Bidenomics doesn’t,” and that income growth was notable under Mr. Trump.
He added: “But we understand that people understand as they look at their pocketbooks that go to the grocery store, that there’s still work to do.”
Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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