US President Donald Trump interacts with attendees after he delivered remarks on the economy at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. Photo / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP
President Donald Trump says he’s working on bringing down prices and that United States consumers have a lot to be thankful for as his first year in office wraps up.
“We inherited the highest prices ever, and we’re bringing them down,” he said on the first stop of his affordability tour, in Pennsylvania.
“We’re getting inflation - we’re crushing it, and you’re getting much higher wages,” he added.
“I mean, the only thing that is really going up big, it’s called the stock market and your 401(k).”
A look at polling reveals that Americans feel very differently than the President about their economic situation.
Overall, costs are rising and Americans’ sentiment about the economy is near historic lows.
“In early December, half of Americans say they were worse off financially than a year ago,” said Claudia Sahm, chief economist at the investment management firm New Century Advisers.
“That’s not the White House crushing it; that’s people getting crushed.”
Here’s what voters really say about affordability.
Trump blames Biden for high prices, but Americans blame Trump
Polls show that Americans feel worse about the economy now than when President Joe Biden was in office and that a majority of voters blame Trump for it.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 62% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s economic performance, while 37% approved of it.
About twice as many say Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy, a November Fox News poll finds.
That same poll found record high disapproval from Trump supporters about the job the President is doing, suggesting that even his core supporters are discontented.
“I voted for him,” Rose Mary Migli, a 73-year-old retired bartender who attended Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, told the Washington Post. “I wish he could do better.”
Americans are pulling back on spending
Trump and his Administration touted Black Friday spending.
Most of that was by higher-income earners, who have been holding up the economy for a while now, economists say.
“Shoppers with household incomes less than US$40,000 ($68,700), meanwhile, pulled back,spending 2% percent less than they did in the same period last year,” the Post reported.
Even basics are a pain point for many: A majority of Americans say they are spending more on groceries and utilities than they were a year ago, the Post poll found.
“We have endured the longest bout of inflation since the early 1980s,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist with the tax and accounting firm KPMG. “Consumers are weary over the level of prices, which remain too high on too many things.”
Then there’s a health insurance cliff worrying Americans
Health insurance in America is expensive and getting worse, right as pandemic-era subsidies for people who purchase insurance on Obamacare marketplaces are expiring. Millions will see their health insurance payments double or even triple in 2026.
Deductibles are going up, too.
Republicans, who control the majorities in Congress, may not find a way to help defray costs in time.
It’s not just people who buy insurance on the marketplaces. Costs are going up for employer-based insurance too, and about half of Americans worry they won’t be able to afford healthcare next year, a recent poll from West Health and Gallup finds.
The Post recently talked to Lester Johnson, a restaurant owner in Richmond, who estimates his healthcare costs - already at US$700 a month - could rise to US$1400 a month next year if Congress doesn’t act.
Trump says Americans should consume less in the meantime
“You know, you can give up certain products. You can give up pencils,” he said in Pennsylvania.
“You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter,” he went on. “Two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”
It’s a defence he sometimes makes about his tariffs, which he says will ultimately bring back manufacturing to the US.
Mainstream economists say that’s a long shot and, in the meantime, evidence shows the tariffs are raising prices. Trump has put tariffs on cars, steel, aluminium, wood, furniture and toys, with products from nearly every country affected.
Businesses are passing some of these costs on to consumers, saying that the longer the tariffs are in effect, the more likely that they will raise prices.
All of this has Democrats saying that Trump is out of touch with American voters - and predicting his stance is going to haunt Republicans in next year’s elections, which will decide control of Congress.
“Trump mocking affordability is going to put Republicans running in the Midterms in a real bind,” said Molly Murphy, a Democratic campaign strategist.
“In polling and groups we often see people saying costs are worse now than a year ago. Mocking it or telling voters the economy is A-plus is out of touch, but it also puts Republicans on the book to either disagree with him or to also have to say that affordability is no big deal.”
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