Trump Calls Affordability Crisis A ‘Con Job’—While 24% Of Americans Live Paycheck To Paycheck
US President Donald Trump is preparing to launch a new tour designed to counter mounting public pessimism about the state of the economy. He is scheduled to travel to Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state he flipped back from Kamala Harris in 2024 after losing it to Joe Biden in 2020, where he will showcase his economic track record and outline steps his administration is taking to rein in inflation.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has largely prioritised foreign policy, making relatively few domestic visits. His approval ratings have since dropped sharply, with rising living costs emerging as a key concern, even as Democrats highlight economic stability in the run-up to the November election.
‘Greatest con job’: Trump dismisses affordability concerns
Trump has consistently brushed aside warnings over affordability, branding them an elaborate “scam” created by Democrats. From the Oval Office on Tuesday, he declared: “It’s a con job. I think affordability is the greatest con job.”
The comments come ahead of his Pennsylvania trip, where he plans to promote his economic agenda and renew his push to “end Joe Biden’s inflation crisis,” according to a White House official. Affordability was central to his 2024 campaign message, which helped pave his return to power.
Campaign pledges on affordability
During the 2024 race, Trump vowed to bring prices down quickly, a promise many economists saw as unrealistic. At an August rally in North Carolina, he warned that “inflation is destroying our country,” using a pack of Tic-Tacs as a prop to highlight shrinkflation. He pledged to target “everything from car affordability to housing affordability to insurance costs to supply chain issues,” adding that his Cabinet would deliver results “within the first 100 days,” if not sooner.
Later, speaking in Montana, he promised to cut “prices of all goods” and proclaimed: “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again,” a line he also repeated in Pennsylvania. The third pledge in the 2024 Republican Party platform states: “END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN.” Even after Democrats scored key victories in Virginia and New Jersey by centring their campaigns on affordability, Trump briefly returned to the theme on 5 November, posting on Truth Social: “Affordability is our goal.”
Public sentiment shows deepening economic unease
Trump’s dismissal of affordability concerns as a “scam” stands at odds with official figures, independent analyses, and voter sentiment. In November, only 21 percent of US adults described current economic conditions as excellent or good, down from 24 percent in October and the lowest reading since March, according to Gallup. At the same time, 40 percent rated conditions as poor, up from 37 percent a month earlier, while Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index fell to its weakest level since July 2024.
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Wall Street data signals strain on households
Financial-sector data also points to growing pressure on American households. Bank of America estimates that roughly 24 percent of US households are now living paycheck to paycheck. Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, reports that the share of subprime borrowers falling behind on car loan payments has doubled to record highs, exceeding even the stress levels seen during the Covid pandemic and the Great Recession.