Voter Affordability Concerns Undermine Trump's Economic Narrative

Key Quotes

"this is really an attempt by president trump to try to reclaim the narrative on affordability and this is all happening right now because voters increasingly report that they're frustrated with president trump's handling of the economy and they're frustrated with the fact that prices continue to remain so stubbornly high and so within the last couple of weeks we've seen president trump start to hit the road to sell his economic agenda"

Tony Romm explains that President Trump is actively trying to control the public's perception of the economy. This effort is a direct response to voter dissatisfaction with his economic policies and the persistent high prices. Romm notes that Trump has begun public appearances to promote his economic agenda.

"the president had a really hard time staying on message you know because i love the weave the weave you know what the weave is you go here being being being being you always have to get back to the right location now president trump did turn to the economy several times during his speech and on the issue of affordability they have a new word you know they always have a hoax the new word is affordability he called it a hoax"

Tony Romm describes President Trump's difficulty in maintaining focus during a speech, illustrating this with the metaphor of a "weave." Romm highlights that Trump referred to affordability as a "hoax," indicating a strategy to deflect from the issue of high prices. This suggests a tactic of dismissing concerns rather than addressing them directly.

"the president comes out and says that he has done extensive work to try to undo the inflation that we saw during the biden administration and said that the work of his administration was going to take time but had already resulted in rising wages and in lower prices for millions of americans tonight after 11 months our border is secure inflation has stopped wages are up prices are down our nation is strong america is respected and our country is back stronger than ever before we're poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen"

Tony Romm relays President Trump's claims about his economic achievements. Trump asserts that his administration has reversed inflation, increased wages, and lowered prices, portraying a strong and improving national economy. Romm notes that Trump presented this as a significant turnaround from the previous administration.

"i think there are two answers to that question the first is that by most measures things are actually worse today than they were a year ago unemployment is higher wage growth is slower consumer spending is growing more slowly inflation is still stubbornly high and so the economy by the sort of standard measures that we use is not a disaster it's not falling off a cliff but it has deteriorated and a gradual deterioration is still a deterioration right it's not surprising that people wouldn't feel terrific about a deterioration absolutely"

Ben Cassleman provides two primary reasons for negative public sentiment regarding the economy. Cassleman states that key economic indicators such as unemployment, wage growth, consumer spending, and inflation have worsened compared to the previous year. He clarifies that while not a catastrophic collapse, this gradual decline is a valid reason for people to feel dissatisfied.

"so i think what it tells us is that the labor market is stuck and it's been stuck for kind of a while we hear about layoffs right we hear about big companies that are cutting jobs but if you look at the data layoffs have really not been very high in fact they've been quite low so if you've got a job you don't seem to be at that much risk of losing it right now but there's very little hiring going on economists talk about this as a low hire low fire environment"

Ben Cassleman analyzes the current labor market, describing it as "stuck." Cassleman explains that while layoffs are not significantly high, indicating job security for those employed, there is a notable lack of new hiring. He characterizes this situation as a "low hire, low fire environment," which makes it difficult for job seekers to find employment.

"grocery prices are up 25 over the past five years wow so the fact that they're only up 2 over the last year doesn't make people feel great and there's still these sort of isolated categories where you see big price increases beef prices are are up something like 15 over the past year look on one level an economist is going to say well you can always cherry pick one price or another that's up a bunch but if you're a shopper who has experienced this increase in prices over the last few years and now you go and look at a pack of ground beef and it's so much more expensive than it was a few months ago you're going to say i can't believe this is still happening and i think that's what we're hearing from voters right now"

Ben Cassleman discusses the impact of inflation on consumers, noting that despite a slowdown in the rate of price increases, the cumulative effect over several years remains significant. Cassleman highlights that grocery prices have risen 25% in five years, and specific items like beef have seen substantial increases. He concludes that these persistent price hikes, even if the rate of increase is slowing, contribute to ongoing consumer frustration.