Trump Campaigned on Affordability. Now He's Calling the Idea a 'Con Job.'

"President Donald Trump has promised not only that America will be 'great again' but also that it will be ' healthy again,' ' wealthy again,' ' beautiful again,' and-crucially-' affordable again.' Now, as the country faces persistent inflation, a housing crisis, and rising prices on consumer goods, he claims that affordability is nothing more than a 'con job,' an opportunistic buzzword leveraged by a rival party. 'The word affordability is a Democrat scam,' he said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday."

"Americans now face both a weakening dollar and stagnant income levels. Trump's surprise implementation of punitive tariffs this summer ended up making all sorts of goods, including clothing and beef, more expensive. Meanwhile, millions have left the country (voluntarily or not) amid the administration's crackdown on immigration, according to the Department of Homeland Security's estimates. This exodus, combined with a reduction in newcomers, has the potential to harm local economies."

"In a Fox News poll last month, almost twice as many respondents said that Trump, not Joe Biden, is responsible for current economic conditions. Per new polling from Politico, 46 percent of Americans say the cost of living in the United States is the worst they can remember it being, and 46 percent think Trump is to blame for those high costs."

President Donald Trump labeled 'affordability' a 'Democrat scam' while promising America would be 'great,' 'healthy,' 'wealthy,' 'beautiful,' and 'affordable' again. Persistent inflation, a housing crisis, and rising consumer prices have strained household budgets. Polling shows many Americans rate the current cost of living as the worst in memory and assign blame to Trump for high costs. Tariffs implemented this summer raised prices on goods including clothing and beef. A crackdown on immigration coincided with millions leaving the country, reducing labor supply and newcomers and threatening local economic activity. The president has alternated between blaming Democrats and defending his record.

Read at The Atlantic