Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Kristen Welker in Washington, where President Trump is doubling down on his economic agenda and facing a rough stretch of souring poll numbers as he urges voters to blame his

predecessor. It comes amid a potential bright spot for the administration, with the Labor Department

reporting today that inflation fell to 2.7 percent in November. That's lower than expected. The data

comes with a few caveats. It was collected later than normal because of the government shutdown.

An economist warned that it may reflect temporary holiday discounting. Still, Wall Street like the news, ending the day in the green after several days in the red.

It comes after President Trump delivered a combative and fiery prime time address to the nation last night,

repeatedly blaming former President Biden for what he called the, quote, mess he inherited,

while defending his economic policies with some over-the-top rhetoric and at times outright

falsehoods.

Here at home, we're bringing our economy back from the brink of ruin.

The last administration and their allies in Congress looted our treasury for trillions of dollars,

driving up prices and everything at levels never seen before.

I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast.

Democrat politicians also sent the cost of grocery soaring, but we are solving that too. The president also vowing that the economy is poised for

an historic boom. Even as new polling shows most Americans do not share that optimism.

61 percent nearly two-thirds say the economy is not

working well for them. That's according to an NPR PBS News Merris College poll. And a majority

of Americans, 59 percent, say President Trump is responsible for the state of the economy,

according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Today, National Economic Council Director Kevin

Hassett acknowledging that this is Donald Trump's economy while urging patience on concerns about

affordability. We're making progress. The American people are making progress. But in some places,

the hole that's been dug is a really deep poll. And it's going to take a while to get out.

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