Trump Struggles To Find His Economic Messaging Npr

President Trump delivers remarks during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Tuesday in Mount Pocono, Pa. Trump discussed his administration's economic agenda and its efforts to lower the cost of living. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption President Trump spent the week making a bold case about a booming U.S. economy with even better times ahead, as his economic policies kick in. The problem for Trump is that polls show a wide swath of Americans aren't feeling that optimism yet — and in his initial attempts at addressing the cost of living, he called the affordability...

Hoping to tackle the messaging disconnect, the White House rolled out a $12 billion farmer aid package and sent Trump to Pennsylvania this week to make his case. Trump has frequently shown himself a strong economic messenger — winning reelection in 2024 by lambasting Joe Biden's economy. But one year into his presidency, Trump is struggling to convince Americans that the economic pain they see in their cost-of-living expenses isn't real. In part, the president's whiplash messaging could stem from his struggle to portray his own economy as less than perfect. Economic concerns continue to be a top priority for Americans. In a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, 57% of respondents say they disapprove of the job President Trump is doing on the economy and just 36% think he’s doing a good job.

It’s the lowest approval rating he’s seen on the issue in either of his terms in office. Amna Nawaz discussed more insights from the poll with NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. President Trump is set to address the nation tonight to tout the work of his administration and look ahead to his priorities in the new year. The speech comes as economic concerns continue to be a top priority for Americans.

In a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, 57 percent of respondents say they disapprove of the job the president is doing on the economy; 36 percent think he's doing a good job. It's the lowest approval rating he's seen on the issue in either of his terms in office. As much as President Donald Trump wants to insist otherwise, the struggling economy is a vulnerability for him and Republicans leading into the 2026 midterm elections. A new high 67% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a new AP-NORC poll. Trump was elected largely because of the economic woes of the Biden administration and the promise of a return to the boom that was the first Trump term before COVID-19. Instead, America has received tariff insanity and more economic struggles as a result.

Trump’s messaging on the economy has been bad, and poses a real opportunity for Democratic politicians to exploit heading into the midterms. Trump’s messaging approach on the economy has been disastrous. He has at times proclaimed the economy is great and, at others, blamed the struggles on former President Joe Biden. These are inherently conflicting messages, and a far cry from his campaign promise of a full recovery if voters simply gave him back the power to fix it. Trump has even opted to call the struggles a "hoax.” President Trump spent the week making a bold case about a booming U.S.

economy with even better times ahead, as his economic policies kick in. The problem for Trump is that polls show a wide swath of Americans aren't feeling that optimism yet — and in his initial attempts at addressing the cost of living, he called the affordability... Hoping to tackle the messaging disconnect, the White House rolled out a $12 billion farmer aid package and sent Trump to Pennsylvania this week to make his case. Trump has frequently shown himself a strong economic messenger — winning reelection in 2024 by lambasting Joe Biden's economy. But one year into his presidency, Trump is struggling to convince Americans that the economic pain they see in their cost-of-living expenses isn't real. In part, the president's whiplash messaging could stem from his struggle to portray his own economy as less than perfect.

"You know, they always have a hoax. The new word is affordability. So they look at the camera and they say, 'this election is all about affordability,' " he said Tuesday in Pennsylvania, referring to Democrats in the wake of the most recent November elections who... The White House is heading into a critical midterm year beset by economic challenges, as it tries to manage stubbornly high prices, a frustrated electorate and a commander-in-chief who struggles to show sympathy toward... For one night, at least, officials addressed one issue: getting President Donald Trump to stay on a scripted message — in-part about affordability — in an 18-minute primetime address to the nation. The question as he heads to another campaign-style rally on Friday: Can they convince him to do it again?

And will any of it change his party’s increasingly dire political fortunes? Some Trump advisers on Thursday cheered the decision to put the president in front of a primetime audience, crediting the official setting and tight time constraints for producing the more focused economic speech they... Trump during the address acknowledged Americans’ affordability concerns while blaming his predecessor for the cost-of-living “mess.” He highlighted specific signs of progress, like lower gas and egg prices, while vowing brighter days were still... President Trump speaks to members of the press after exiting Air Force One on Nov. 9 at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images hide caption

President Trump says he is going to "make America affordable again." It's a pledge he made frequently during the campaign. And now, after dropping it from his lexicon for more than eight months, he's saying it again as polls show voters rank the economy and cost of living as their top concern and blame... A senior administration official tells NPR Trump will soon travel around the country with a message that while some things have improved, there is more work to do to help people feeling economic strain. The official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, added that when it comes to affordability, "there's no finish line." Thus far, Trump has spent far more time boasting about how great the economy and stock market are doing than acknowledging any economic anxiety. "Record high, record high, record high," Trump said of the stock market last week at a business event in Florida.

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