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President Donald Trump is stepping out of his White House bubble to address economic gloom; we expect he’ll make time to listen as well as speechify.
He needs to be careful: Slamming Democrats’ talk of “affordability” as a “con job” is readily twisted to make it seem he doesn’t think people are suffering.
We realize that he means that Dems are responsible for the nation’s current woes; they can’t credibly claim to be the party of strong economic growth, which is the only way out of this box.
But his mission, Tuesday in Pennsylvania and in more speeches across the country early in the new year, is to address public frustration over stubbornly high prices and slow wage growth.
The prez can and should offer genuine assurances, but must admit the frustration is painfully real: Three-quarters of Americans view the economy negatively, a Fox News survey found last month.
That’s up from the 70% who felt that way at the end of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Nearly half say Trump’s policies have hurt the economy, vs. just 15% who say they’ve helped.
The prez can and should explain that he inherited a mess, and point to how his policies are starting to turn things around, but when voters feel pain, they don’t take well to being told they’re just wrong.
Biden & Co. found that out the hard way.
And though the Consumer Price Index has come down from its Biden-era high of 9.1%, the steep prices left behind are still rising, with inflation stuck about 3%; wage growth is also slow, particularly for lower-income workers.
Trump’s tariffs are partly to blame; for example, new cars, whose prices are significantly affected by import fees, now average a mind-blowing $50,000, per Kelley Blue Book.
The president can discuss how the tariffs will ultimately pay off, but voters elected him to fix things — and so far they haven’t seen great progress.
Trump certainly has some good economic news to tout: Average gas prices, for example, have fallen below $3 for the first time since May 2021; that’s likely just a first taste of how his energy policies will deliver for all, including by boosting manufacturing and other sectors that pay good wages.
Plus, his policies already seem to be yielding a healthy (if not stunning) 3% GDP growth.
Directly addressing the public’s concerns — getting out and connecting with voters on what’s almost always their top issue — will do a world of good.
As will turning from foreign policy, which has kept him globe-trotting or cooped up in the White House with world leaders, to the economy.
Ending wars is great, but pretty distant from the kitchen table.
With the midterm elections just 11 months off, Trump can’t afford to ignore what James Carville stressed in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.”