President Donald Trump is clearly frustrated that his economic agenda isn’t resonating with Americans.
According to polling aggregation by RealClearPolitics, the president’s job approval stands at just 42.4% with 54.9% disapproving.
Meanwhile, approval of his handling of the economy is even worse. Just 39.5% of Americans say they approve of his handling of the U.S. economy compared to 57.9% who disapprove.
Coupled with negative consumer sentiment and easy Democratic wins in last month’s off-year elections, many have identified “affordability” as a weak point for the president.
Inflation is still an ongoing problem. While the annual rate remains around 3%, the reality is that we all experience the cumulative impact of inflation. Americans remember paying much cheaper food, housing and energy costs just a few years ago.
Yet Trump is going with his signature spin on the issue of “affordability.”
“They just say the word,” Trump said on Tuesday at the White House. “It doesn’t mean anything to anybody. They just say it—affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything.”
He continued, “The word affordability is a Democrat scam. They say it, and then they go on to the next subject. And everyone thinks, ‘Oh, they had lower prices.’”
Indeed, it’s true that Trump was elected amid widespread discontent with how the Biden administration handled the unquestionably challenging problem of inflation. And it’s also likely the case that Democrats don’t really know how to make America more affordable (see: California).
But, there’s a problem for Trump here. Biden isn’t president anymore, he is. So it’s up to him and his administration to figure out what to do about the economy, high levels of inflation and the perception America is less affordable.
Calling affordability a “Democrat scam” is a cop out that abandons a key concern of many of his working-class supporters who feel the pressure most.
Instead of complaining about a valid issue, Trump should take affordability seriously and work to make America affordable again.