Trump touts upbeat message on cost of living as Americans feel the pinch

US President Donald Trump told a campaign-style crowd that consumer prices are falling “tremendously”, as he seeks to calm voters’ concerns about the cost of living in the United States.

In a speech at a casino in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the president told supporters that he had “no higher priority than making America affordable again.”

But while the prices of fuel and eggs have fallen, other food items have become more expensive, and Americans remain dissatisfied with the cost of housing, child care, and health care.

Democrats have exploited Trump’s weakness on the economy in recent state and city elections, leaving many Republicans uneasy about next year’s midterm elections.

The event, held Tuesday in a swing district in Pennsylvania, was the first of what the White House said would be a series of rallies aimed at getting its economic message to voters.

But at one point in his remarks, the Republican president again portrayed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “hoax.”

The White House blames former President Joe Biden and US central bank interest rates for the ongoing economic pain.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates twice, leaving them at about 3.9%, and financial markets expect the bank to lower them further later on Wednesday. However, inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target of 3%.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has eliminated tariffs on dozens of food products and touted its rollback of fuel efficiency standards and Trump-branded retirement accounts for children as cost-of-living reforms.

In an excerpt from an interview with Politico released Tuesday, Trump was asked what grade he would give the economy.

“Plus plus plus plus plus,” he said.

In a sign that the policy axis may be evolving, Trump’s approval rating rose three points to 41% in a new poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos.

But many Americans remain pessimistic about the economy.

Alaina Hunt, 37, told the BBC that she lost her job in April as a designer at a construction company in Oklahoma City, partly due to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium.

The construction sector “took a hard hit very early on,” she said, adding that she had applied for at least 75 jobs to no avail.

Rising grocery bills — about $25 extra a week — added to the stress, she said.

“I’ve been able to get by a lot easier in previous years,” said Ms. Hunt, who voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024. “I don’t think the federal government is listening at all.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has been skeptical of Trump’s messaging on the economy. He told CBS News that the president’s view “does not reflect the reality on the ground here in a community where many Pennsylvanians voted for him in the last election.”

Citing issues such as trade tariffs, Shapiro continued: “The record is clear: His policies have hurt the same communities that got him to the White House.”

The economic data itself paints a mixed picture.

US consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since the spring.

But the stock market is still hovering near record levels. Forecasters expect the economy to expand 1.9% this year, slower than last year’s 2.8% but still better than expected.

Some recent data also suggests that the labor market may be rebounding, after a significant slowdown in hiring earlier this year.

At the rally, Trump said, “Prices are down significantly from the highest prices in the history of our country.”

But prices do not fall – which is considered a decline in inflation – but rather rise at a slower rate.

As of September, inflation was at 3%, the same rate it was in January when the president took office and stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target.

It is still well below the peak of 9.1% under former President Joe Biden when the United States faced its worst inflation in four decades.

Overall prices have risen by 25% over the past five years, generating widespread frustration, despite wage growth over that period.

Beth Richardson, 45, of Kansas, said she was impressed by some of the prices at her local grocery store, remembering a box of Mentos gum she picked up recently that cost about $5 with tax.

“I’m like, ‘I’m going to die now because this can’t happen,'” she said.

Ms. Richardson was laid off from her sales support job at a technology-related company in late 2023, after the company moved her jobs offshore. I voted for Kamala Harris last year.

She said she knows that presidents are often blamed for economic forces over which they have little control, but in this case she felt that Trump and his policies, such as tariffs, were “shooting us in the foot.”

On Tuesday night, Trump called tariffs his “favorite word,” citing hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. revenue from import taxes.

Many Trump supporters said they still support the president, despite feeling upset.

John Mooring, 60, a widower and construction worker from Kenosha, Wisconsin, has supported Trump since 2016.

Grocery prices started rising before Trump returned to the White House “and they don’t seem to be going down,” he said.

He now typically spends $100 on groceries just for himself, even as he avoids buying meat and sticks to cheaper items.

However, Mooring said he supports the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods and his border policies.

“I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt,” Mooring added.

Brad Smith, a corn and soybean farmer in northwestern Illinois, was hurt earlier this year when China, once a major buyer of U.S. soybeans, froze purchases amid a trade war with Washington.

But he said the market had been gradually recovering since late October, when the two countries reached an agreement and China resumed some purchases.

On Monday, Trump also announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers.

Smith said he still believes in Trump’s plans for the economy, despite being caught in the crossfire.

“There are probably bigger things going on than just the soybean and corn market,” Smith said.

“The whole idea of ​​‘America First’ is good.”