Welcome to The Beat. I'm Ari Melbert. Americans are turning towards the holidays, spending money on

Christmas shopping, travel. And the top story in politics is how affordability, high prices, and

economic pain are shaping voters' priorities, including powering that Democratic sweep in last month's

elections. President Trump noticed he's responding tonight,

speaking in Pennsylvania on a tour that has been touted as his sort of response to voters' concerns.

We have a view from Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. Von Hilliard will be reporting for us there shortly.

You're looking at part of that tour. Trump's plan speech is also an implicit follow-up to that

unusual meeting he had with the Democratic Socialist and mayor-elect of New York,

Zora and Mom Dani. There, the president seemed to recognize almost in real time that this

progressive has some kind of appeal. Trump even talked up some of Mom Dani's New York plans,

which confounded and upset his own MAGA based.

But that may have been the instinct of a president

who realizes he is unpopular right now,

even as he attacks the polls that show it.

He's watched economic anxiety supercharged what was a slow budding, but now

clearly wider revolt against what has been a rocky first year of this term, to say the least.

From inflation to Epstein, the president has seen his policies and plans rebuked, not just on

the left or the broad, angry middle,

the No King's protest, concerned about what this administration's doing to the government

and the fiber of the country as we know it, but also to many people on the right who pay the

same prices as everybody else. I have more on that in a moment. But remember, the president

who began this same year, fresh off what was clearly a comeback election,

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