Weary aides to President Donald Trump want him to stop making fantastical claims about the economy and pinning woes on his predecessor, according to a new report.
White House officials are urging Trump not to dismiss concerns from tens of millions of Americans about the cost-of-living crisis and rising food prices, and to stop pointing the finger at former President Joe Biden, who left office in January.
“Joe Biden is no longer a threat to them because he’s out of office, he’s never going to be in office again,” one unnamed Trump adviser told CNN. “You’ve got to feel their pain. You’ve got to talk about it every day.”
Trump, whose net worth is estimated at more than $6 billion, has frequently dismissed suggestions that Americans are experiencing severe financial anxiety or struggling with affordability, calling such concerns a “hoax” or a “con job” pushed by Democrats.
He has also routinely suggested that if Americans are struggling to afford everyday items, it is Biden’s fault.
While announcing a $12 billion bailout for farmers—a move required because of the president’s trade war with China—Trump declared Monday that “we inherited a total mess from the Biden administration.”
During last week’s fawning Cabinet meeting, after suggesting affordability concerns are a “fake narrative,” Trump incorrectly stated: “I inherited the worst inflation in history.”
“There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything. The prices were massively high,” he added.
The optics of Trump’s diminished response to voters’ economic concerns have become so damaging that the president will launch a public-appearance tour beginning in Pennsylvania on Tuesday to convince people the economy is improving under his second term.
More national appearances are expected in the coming weeks, with Trump reportedly annoyed that voters are not buying his insistence that there is no cost-of-living crisis and that economic conditions will turn around soon.
“Everybody gets it at the White House,” a Trump adviser told CNN. “We’ve got a lot of work to go, and it’s frustrating for the president, but it’s what we’ve got to deal with.”
The White House appears determined, however, to continue placing blame squarely on Biden, who left the Oval Office 11 months ago.
A White House spokesperson told the Daily Beast last week that Trump will use his upcoming appearance blitz in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to “continue to focus on delivering on his Day One priority of ending Joe Biden’s inflation crisis.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for further comment.
The post Trump Aides Beg Him to Stop Blaming Biden for His Own Mess appeared first on The Daily Beast.
