As President Donald Trump continues to call affordability a “con job,” his own base is singing a different tune, according to a new poll.
“I think affordability is the greatest con job‚” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday as he announced a rollback on Biden-era fuel efficiency standards for cars.
“They look at you, and they say, ‘Affordability,’” he added of Democrats. “They don’t say anything else. Everyone says, ‘Oh, their prices are so low.’ No, they had the worst inflation.”
Trump launched a similar attack during his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, calling affordability — one of his top issues on the 2024 campaign trail — a “fake narrative” pushed by Democratic lawmakers.
“The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam,” Trump said at the White House. “They say it, and then they go on to the next subject.”
But a new poll released by POLITICO on Thursday found that many Americans, including those who voted for Trump during last year’s presidential election, are beginning to blame him for high costs they are feeling on a daily basis.
According to the poll, 46% of respondents said the cost of living is the worst they have seen, along with 37% of 2024 Trump voters. Forty-three percent, including 31% of his base, argued there is less economic opportunity in the United States compared to the past.
Forty-six percent of Americans believe Trump holds most or all responsibility for the affordability crisis, compared to 29% who blame his predecessor, per the poll. Around one fifth of Trump voters, or 18%, expressed the same sentiment.
The poll also revealed that Americans across parties, age groups, races, genders and income levels agree that affordability is a top priority. Forty-five percent of adults see groceries as one of the most challenging costs to afford, compared to 38% for housing and 34% for health care.
Democrats have capitalized on the vulnerability in recent months, making the cost of living a central focus of winning campaigns in New Jersey, New York City and Virginia last month. In Tennessee, affordability made a special election race in a typically staunch-red congressional district more competitive.
Trump’s message on the economy — a concern he repeatedly pledged to tackle starting on day one — helped propel him to a second term in office. With the American electorate seemingly souring on his agenda, as seen in recent polling, the president has appeared to acknowledge that he has lost favor — while also sending mixed messaging.
“I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” Trump told Fox News early last month.
“Groceries are way down. Everything is way down,” Trump also claimed. “And the press doesn’t report it. The press reports whatever the con people say. You know, I call the Democrats con men and women. They make up numbers.”
On Saturday, Trump claimed the drug prices are falling at “levels never seen before,” which could lead to overwhelming Republican victories during the 2026 midterms.
“I AM THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “TALK LOUDLY AND PROUDLY.”
The POLITICO poll, which surveyed 2,098 U.S. adults, was conducted by Public First from Nov. 14-17. The overall margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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