What's Missing From Donald Trump's ‘Affordability’ Message

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At a rally in Pennsylvania, he suggests affordability concerns are a "hoax," insisting that the economy is strong and prices are coming down. But with inflation still running at 3%, and as consumers pay Trump's tariffs, is the White House too quickly dismissing this political vulnerability for the GOP in the 2026 midterms? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:28.6	Gambunaware.org.
0:32.5	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.
0:40.4	President Trump gives a speech in Pennsylvania telling voters that prices are now going down while suggesting again that the
0:45.6	affordability issue is a hoax, but is the public likely to take his word for it? And what could
0:51.6	Republicans really do if they decide the prices in the economy
0:54.8	are a real political threat? Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal. We're joined
1:01.1	today by my colleagues on the journal's opinion pages, Alicia Finley and Matt Contonetti. The signs
1:08.5	at President Trump's rally on Tuesday in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, read lower prices, bigger paychecks, suggesting that the White House is hearing the political concern for Republicans about the country's economic anxiety.
1:22.7	But the thrust of Trump's message on Tuesday seemed to be what economic anxiety?
1:27.5	You guys are doing great.
1:29.2	Listen to this.
1:30.0	You're getting lower prices, bigger paychecks.
	...

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