Trump & Inflation: Criticism of Economic Policies

Trump’s attempts to address economic concerns have been overshadowed by criticism of his tariff and pricing policies. An analysis.

Washington DC – President Donald Trump last month launched an effort to show Americans he cares about their concerns about rising prices. He traveled to the casino in Pennsylvania to talk about affordability – only to instead mock Democrats who use the term, calling it a “hoax.”

He then visited Detroit to highlight his efforts to revitalize US industry. But here too, he called affordability “a wrong word invented by Democrats.”

On his trip to Davos last week, he unveiled a new housing initiative designed to help families suffering from rising costs. But there, too, the president torpedoed his own announcement by triggering a global crisis over his desire to wrest Greenland from a NATO ally, Denmark.

Unrest over Trump’s economic course in the election year

Trump has repeatedly tried to focus on uncertainties surrounding the domestic economy, an issue that Republicans fear could hurt them in this year’s congressional elections. But the president repeatedly loses attention and distances himself from the concerns of his restless voter base. Last month he ordered an attack on Venezuela, considered military action against Iran and threatened to use force to take over Greenland. None of these measures brought widespread support among his “America First” supporters, on whom the GOP relies in Congress.

On Tuesday, Trump tried again. The planned afternoon speech in Des Moines – assuming the winter weather doesn’t put a damper on the plan – is intended to focus on energy and the economy. It is part of what officials in the White House are announcing as increased domestic travel to better navigate a difficult election year that even Trump recognizes as challenging.

Economic growth and continued skepticism

Although the economy has grown steadily in recent months, warning signals are increasing. Companies are hiring fewer workers, wage growth is slowing and credit card debt is mounting. While the wealthiest benefit from rising stock prices and higher real estate values, the majority of Americans are left with stagnating purchasing power since the pandemic, according to Moody’s Analytics.

That’s why many say they feel worse about the economy than they did a year ago. Although the consumer climate rose slightly between December and January, it remains well below the previous year’s level, according to a highly regarded survey by the University of Michigan on Friday. What is striking is that Americans expect rising inflation in the coming year because Trump’s new, unpopular tariffs and immigration policies are having an impact on the economy.

“It’s definitely the issue that voters say is most important to them,” longtime Democratic pollster Geoff Garin said of affordability. “And it is the issue that drives Trump’s very high disapproval ratings.”

Garin sees a particular challenge for the president in the effects of his tariff policy, which Trump is sticking to despite widespread concerns and the risk of further rising prices.

“The polls are clear: Americans do not want higher tariffs and see tariffs as a tax on themselves that increases their cost of living,” said Garin.

Republican hopes for a change in strategy

Some Republicans are cautiously optimistic that the president can recalibrate his message.

“I think he’s starting to understand what the situation is,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster who frequently conducts focus groups on the economy. “He’s betting that he can change perceptions through persistence. But affordability is a very stubborn problem.”

A White House official points to positive indicators such as falling inflation and rising wages and says Trump’s increased domestic travel could help spread those messages.

“President Trump is always at his strongest when he is in touch with everyday Americans,” said the official, who spoke anonymously about internal deliberations on the trip. “Domestic travel is the most effective way for the president to illustrate how this administration is delivering — and continuing to deliver — economic prosperity, despite the manufactured scandals that mainstream media and Democrats would prefer to focus on.”

Iowa as a strategic stage for the Republicans

Trump’s choice of Iowa as his next stop is notable because he has won the state, which has become more reliably Republican over the past decade, in three consecutive presidential elections. But the Democrats see opportunities there. The state is expected to be a focus in 2026, with open races for governor and the U.S. Senate, as well as two competitive congressional districts. All are currently Republican-held.

“I’ll be traveling a lot for the campaign,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on the flight back from Davos last week, acknowledging the historic headwinds the president’s party usually faces in midterm elections.

“Sitting presidents tend not to be successful in midterm elections,” he said. “I think they’ve won twice over 50 years. I don’t know why that is. It’s something deep in people. You’d have to ask a psych – a real psychiatrist. But we should actually do very well.”

Comparison to Biden and the economic discussion

Trump regularly blames his predecessor Joe Biden for many of the current economic problems. But when it comes to public perception, the two now have something in common: Both are having difficulty convincing Americans of their approach to the economy.

Biden always insisted that the economy was better than people felt. He complained that he hadn’t received the credit he felt he deserved for improvements, while also struggling with how to adequately sell his policies.

Trump, who won the 2024 election by betting on economic concerns and Biden’s handling of them, now also says the economy is better than many believe. And he also recognizes that he needs to promote his politics more actively.

“People’s feeling that he was financially competent sustained him, even though they were unhappy with him on 100 other issues,” Garin says. “But now that he is so deeply in the red when it comes to the economy, there is actually nothing left to support him on the 100 other issues.”

Garin sees the economy as a central issue in the November election and doesn’t believe Trump can suddenly “reset” his message after weeks of unsuccessful attempts.

“I don’t think anything will change by then because Trump doesn’t change,” he adds. “He is what he is.”

Trump’s campaign appearances and the issue of affordability

Trump’s first major attempt came in December, when he went to Mount Pocono in Pennsylvania and presented charts of economic figures. Behind him were posters that read “Lower Prices Bigger Salaries.”

But he often deviated, entertaining the audience and diverting attention away from economic issues.

Trump’s rejection of the term affordability could itself become a problem, according to Luntz. Because it’s not just Democrats who use the word, and the president risks conveying that Americans’ problems with mortgages or food are not real.

Affordability is “part of society’s vocabulary,” says Luntz. “And anyone who talks to normal voters knows that. In all the focus groups I do, that always comes first. Immigration used to be important, Russia-Ukraine too. But affordability – and that’s what people say: ‘I can’t afford it.'”

Long-term effects and contradictions in the economic debate

Trump has also suggested that his policies will be effective in the long term – even if there are short-term burdens. He was referring to statements from earlier in his term that Americans could get by without a lot.

“Your daughter doesn’t need 37 dolls,” he said last month. “Two or three is nice, but 37 isn’t necessary. We’re doing this right. We’re running this country right.”

The choice of the annual meeting of the global financial elite in Davos to present new measures for homeowners was already unusual. The announcement was lost between Trump’s threats over Greenland and panels of tech billionaires and thought leaders.

“He doesn’t enjoy it, and the public doesn’t applaud it either, because these are serious issues,” Luntz said.

This may explain why Trump regularly digresses. In Detroit, he talked about affordability but quickly veered off. “No, that’s a word Democrats use,” he said. “They are the ones who caused the problem.”

He then talked about transgender athletes and infighting within his own camp (“We have some real losers,” he said — including Mitt Romney, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski). Five minutes later he was back to the economics topic.

“After falling by $3,000 under sleepy Joe Biden, real wages have risen by $1,300 in less than a year under President Trump,” he continued.

Economy as a decisive factor before the midterms

With the start of his campaign tour, Trump wants to show above all how he is changing course. He has until Labor Day to turn perceptions of the economy around – a time when voter sentiment often solidifies before elections.

This is made more difficult by the fact that some voters who voted for him in 2024 voted against the Democrats not out of conviction but out of dislike. Many of them particularly reject Trump’s economic course – especially the tariff policy.

A new poll from CNN-SSRS shows: Three in ten Americans rate the economy positively, 55 percent say Trump’s policies have made the situation worse. Around 64 percent think he has done too little about the prices of everyday goods, and even around half of Republicans say Trump should do more.

“We inherited a mess,” he said last week. “And we turned it into a beautiful, beautiful picture.”

Abha Bhattarai contributed to this report.

This article was first published in English on January 26, 2026 at the “Washingtonpost.com” – as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.