Days after dubbing himself the “AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT,” President Donald Trump appears to have changed his tune on the key issue.
While speaking during his ninth Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump called affordability a “fake narrative” pushed by Democrats, adding, “They just say the word — it doesn’t mean anything to anybody. We just say it. Affordability.”
“The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam,” Trump later said at the White House. “They say it, and then they go on to the next subject. And everyone thinks, ‘Oh, they had lower prices.’”
Trump went on to claim that he inherited the “worst inflation in history” under former President Joe Biden’s administration — going on to say that “nobody could afford anything.”
“Now some people will correct me, because they always love to correct me,” Trump said. “Even though I’m right about everything. But some people like to correct me, and they say 48 years.”
Under Biden’s presidency, year-over-year inflation — the pace of price increases — peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, which was the highest monthly figure in around 40 years. Before he left office, the rate began a downward trajectory, but remained somewhat elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to a Federal Reserve report released in February.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate increased to 3% in September, which was lower than expected by most economists.
“Since last January, we’ve stopped inflation in its tracks,” Trump said, despite the inflation rate hitting its highest level since the start of his second term. “And there’s still more to do. There’s always more to do. But we have it down to a very good level.”
As Trump pointed to a dip in prices among some groceries and gasoline, recent polling shows that affordability has still remained a top issue for voters.
Americans are more likely to blame Trump for raising prices rather than lowering them, according to a Yahoo/YouGov poll released last month. Per the poll, 49% of respondents said the president has done more to increase prices since returning to office, while 24% said he has done more to lower them. Seventeen percent said they have remained “about the same.”
A Gallup poll, released Friday, found that Trump’s approval rating was underwater on the economy, standing at 36%.
Meanwhile, a Fox News poll from last month revealed Trump received record-high negative marks among his core supporters, driven by discontent with the economy and uncertainty of his administration’s policies. The poll indicated that 76% of voters disapprove of the economy — a nine-point difference from 67% in July — and many say costs have risen for utilities (78%), housing (66%), health care (67%) and gasoline (54%) compared to a year ago.
And in races in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City — where Democrats swept statewide last month — a majority of voters indicated that cost of living and the economy were their major concerns, according to NBC News exit polls.
Several Democratic lawmakers and pundits poked fun at Trump’s apparent change of heart, after the economy became one of the chief concerns that helped him deliver a second term.
“This is objectively some of the worst messaging from a politician in history,” the MeidasTouch Network wrote on X.
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) joked, “Somebody put Grandpa back to bed. But tell him to end the tariffs first.”
“He campaigned on affordability in 2024. If it’s a scam today, then he was the scam artist in chief,” Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) posted.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) accused Trump of ” trying to gaslight Americans into believing that everything is fine.”“The reality is millions of Americans are worried about their checking accounts and whether they can put food on the table, afford healthcare and pay their bills,” Schneider continued.
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