Americans, even some of his own voters, are growing impatient with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and his approach to stamping out inflation that skyrocketed under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The inflation rate reached a scorching high of 9% under Biden’s administration in 2022, and that number has since dropped to approximately 3% in September. It also dropped during the very tail end of Biden’s presidency.
However, everyone is still feeling the pain of high prices. Whether it’s housing, groceries, or utility bills, prices are eating away at people’s paychecks and savings, while many young college graduates struggle to even find employment. CEO compensation grew in 2024, but for many working and middle-class Americans, wages have remained largely stagnant over the past year. (Subscribe to MR. RIGHT, a free weekly newsletter about modern masculinity)
A new Politico poll published Thursday is the latest evidence that Americans across the political spectrum are growing frustrated with Trump and the economy. The poll surveyed just over 2,000 U.S. adults between Nov. 14 and 17.
Thirty-seven percent of Trump voters said that their cost of living is the worst they can remember, while 34% said their cost of living is bad but has been worse in the past.
The poll also found that one in five Trump voters believe that the president is fully responsible for the state of the economy. Thirty-seven percent of Trump voters believe that it is Biden’s fault; 14% believe that both Trump and Biden share equal blame, while 7% of people believe it is mainly Trump’s fault, and some Biden’s.
It doesn’t help the administration that they are pulling the same move that cost Biden dearly: deny, deny, deny.
In 2024, CNN’s Erin Burnett rattled off some stats on the economy straight to Biden’s robotic face and simply said voters are wrong.
Biden looks shocked as CNN host Erin Burnett reels off a list of stats detailing how bad the economy is. Biden claims he’s already “turned it around” and that every poll showing Americans favouring Trump on the economy is wrong. Full report here: https://t.co/smaN0DjOVD pic.twitter.com/K2wTAwdrse
— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) May 9, 2024
Trump is actually topping Biden’s denial strategy, recently telling Fox Business that affordability is just a “hoax.”
“I think they are getting fake news from guys like you. Affordability is a hoax. It was started by Democrats, who caused the problems of pricing. And they did not end it,” he said.
Here’s Trump on the Democrat who ran in Tennessee’s special election: “They are like scam artists. I call them con-men and women. They come out and say, affordability. We are going to get prices down. We have brought them down from prices they caused. The reason they had the highest inflation in the history of our country is because they have the highest prices. But we brought them down, and now we have normal inflation.”
And the president Saturday on TruthSocial: “If this story is properly told, we should win the Midterm Elections in RECORD NUMBERS. I AM THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT. TALK LOUDLY AND PROUDLY!”
At a certain point, the noise-making and denials make the problem much, much worse. Biden and his administration paid the price for it. Trump will likely pay for it, too, if the administration doesn’t change course.
Elected officials, the Trump administration included, seem to think we are all stupid. COVID-19 caused a giant price shock, and even if inflation rates have been moderated since then, that new baseline created in the wake of the pandemic is still way too expensive for Americans. Trump is also partially responsible for that post-COVID inflation. In 2023, a study from the St. Louis Fed found that the pandemic-era stimulus payments, which totaled $3,200 per tax filer across three checks under both Trump and Biden, contributed to high inflation rates.
Everyone is straining under the new baseline. Yet the elites at the top are absolutely clueless. Or, they just don’t care.
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