Trump calls affordability a ‘hoax’ while JD Vance admits Americans are struggling

President Bill Clinton famously said he could feel voters’ economic pain. These days, however, when responding to inquiries regarding rising living costs, President Donald Trump maintains that the burden rests with him.

“They hit me with affordability, and that’s the first time I ever heard the word used,” he complained in Nebraska earlier this month.

In response, the White House relies on Vice President JD Vance to deliver a softer tone. Speaking in Texas last month, he admitted: “There are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress.” Later, during a CBS News town hall on Saturday, Vance noted, “I recognize that gas prices are too high right now” and added that “we’re working on it.”

Depending on which Republican figure is addressing the public, Americans hear contrasting descriptions of the current economic reality.

Trump contends that “the golden age of America is upon us.” Meanwhile, Vance tries to strike a delicate balance, acknowledging the financial pressure consumers feel while still selling them on Trump’s agenda.

This disconnect emerged as American confidence in the economy fell to its lowest point in more than a decade this month. At the same time, average long-term mortgage rates in the U.S. climbed to a nearly three-year high, and the monthly unemployment rate ticked up last month.

Data released earlier this month demonstrates that elevated gasoline prices are intensifying inflation, with increased oil and gas expenses starting to push prices up across other sectors of the domestic economy.

While most of Trump’s core supporters do not view him as responsible, some acknowledge that the president’s characteristic salesmanship does not always hit the mark.

“I think he talks it up,” said Conda Little, a 76-year-old retiree who attended a Trump event in Dalton, Georgia, on Friday. “I think Vance is more real.”

Little trusts the president’s assertion that he will achieve a victory regarding Iran in a way that serves U.S. consumers at home. Nevertheless, she noted that the conflict’s domestic consequences remain unavoidable.

“Everybody’s real upset about the gas” and “groceries are out of sight,” she stated regarding the current climate. “It’s hard. It’s really hard,” she said, adding, “I think that people need to hear the truth.”

Trump remains reluctant to validate economic concerns. Speaking to reporters earlier in the month, he stated that he gives himself “an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything.” He has routinely dismissed anxieties over high expenses, arguing that affordability concerns are a “hoax.”

“We’re in the golden age of America. So our nation is doing better now than ever before,” he told an audience in Kentucky on Saturday while campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates.

Although Trump has occasionally conceded that energy costs are elevated, he has framed high fuel costs as “a small price to pay” to keep the country and the world safe during the war with Iran.

Trump’s discordant message on one of the primary issues voters cited ahead of the upcoming midterm elections appears even more pronounced in his focus on capital improvement projects in Washington, including plans to build a large ballroom at the White House.

During a trip this month to an economically struggling corner of Arizona, he regaled the crowd with a story about how he ended up with a luxury jet gifted by Qatar to use as Air Force One.

Meanwhile, as Vance travels across the country, he quickly says the administration has more work to do.

To assign blame, the vice president frequently claims that the country’s previous Democratic administration put the economy in such a deep hole that it needs more time to climb out.

To demonstrate empathy, Vance frequently references his own experience growing up in a working-class family within a Rust Belt town.

That background stands in sharp contrast to Trump, who comes from a wealthy family, is a billionaire, and even joked during speeches on Friday and Saturday that visitors having lunch at his Mar-a-Lago club would find that “for $5,000, you’ll get one hamburger and a small dessert.”

Addressing a CBS News town hall that aired on Saturday, Vance said: “I grew up in a working-class family. When gas prices were high, I know that it made my grandmother suffer, and I’m sure that you’re struggling with it in a variety of ways.”

When the moderator pressed him on the mixed message he and Trump are sending about the economy, Vance explained that the president was talking about incoming investments, while noting that structural changes take time.

“We need to do more, and we can certainly do better,” he acknowledged.

Some voters find Trump’s optimistic economic portrayals off-putting, including Santiago Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Texas college student planning to cast his ballot for the first time this year.

Rodriguez, who attended a campaign rally last week for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, noted that he would consider voting for a Republican under different circumstances, but not while Trump is in charge, arguing that he fails to grasp the high cost of living for Americans.

“I think he’s out of touch, I think he’s never seen what a true day as a Texan or anybody in general who is in the working class,” Rodriguez said.

Conversely, Trump’s most loyal supporters show no interest in blaming high prices on anything the president has done.

Cindy Massengill, a 67-year-old who came to see Trump in Dalton, Georgia, said she believes he is doing the best he can.

“I’m positive that he’s got done more than any other president after the mess we were left with Obama and Biden,” she said.

Mary Bunker, a 67-year-old Republican who joined Trump’s Monday rally near Wichita, Kansas, works multiple jobs, including shifts as a waitress and a DoorDash driver.

While she feels the pressure of high gas prices, she approves of the tax breaks Trump signed into law last year and does not fault how he speaks about economic concerns.

“I think he’s a very good businessman,” Bunker said. “He’s been in business a long time, so I think he knows what he’s talking about.”