By Tim Reid, Nandita Bose and Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s repeated mocking of the word “affordability” worries Republican strategists, who say the fixation risks undermining White House efforts to reassure Americans about the cost of living – a top concern of voters heading into next year’s congressional elections.
Those fears were highlighted during Trump’s speech to supporters in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. The White House billed the speech as the first in a series by the president to address critics that he is not paying enough attention to voters who say they are struggling with high prices.
Instead, the 90-minute speech devolved into attacks on the word “affordability,” which Trump derided as a “scam” by Democrats to exaggerate the cost of living. While he acknowledged prices were high, he insisted the economy was booming and people were taking home more paychecks.
But Republican strategists told Reuters the president should stop focusing on the term “affordability” and instead focus on presenting a clear plan to lower prices.
“Repeating this claim that affordability is made up ignores what’s going on in our economy,” said Jason Cabel Roe, a Republican consultant. “He definitely needs to do better.”
Government data shows that job growth has slowed during Trump’s second term, unemployment has risen to its highest level in four years and consumer prices remain high. Overall, economic growth recovered somewhat after the economy contracted slightly in the first quarter of the year.
WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS TRUMP ON ACCESSIBILITY
A person who speaks regularly with top Trump advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak more freely about the messages said some of those advisers recognized the president needed to talk more about the domestic economy, especially ahead of November’s midterm elections, with Republican control of both houses of Congress up for grabs.
Two White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that Trump’s disparaging comments about affordability made him appear disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Americans, though they acknowledged that was a complaint from some Republican lawmakers.
White House spokesman Kush Desai defended Trump’s focus on the economy, calling the rally “a reminder to ordinary Americans that the Trump administration continues to prioritize affordability.”
Trump’s approval rating climbed to 41 percent in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll as he cut some tariffs on food imports and talked more about fighting inflation. But the approval rating for its cost of living performance was just 31%.
Officials said Trump will hit the road in the new year to campaign for Republican candidates and highlight his successes on economic policy. Trump says his tax cuts and tariffs on foreign goods will put more money in the pockets of American families.
Speaking to reporters and technology executives at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said Democrats keep talking about affordability, but “they never discuss it. They just say the election is about affordability. Well, it could very well be, I think it’s about the border as well.”
Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, posted on social media that Trump spent his speech “telling Pennsylvanians not to believe what they can see with their own eyes — the skyrocketing cost of living and rising grocery prices.”
Opinion polls show the cost of living is a top concern among voters and has been seen as contributing to a number of recent Democratic electoral victories.
INDEPENDENT, MODERATE VOTERS WILL DECIDE
Trump told the rally, “I have no higher priority than making America affordable again,” as he blamed his predecessor, former Democratic President Joe Biden, for high prices.
That’s an important message to send to voters, said John Feehery, a longtime Republican operative, but tone matters.
“It’s very difficult to tell people they’re fine when they’re not,” Feehery said.
Charlie Gerow, a Pennsylvania Republican strategist, said Trump’s remarks on Tuesday likely sounded “off the cuff” to moderates and independents, an influential voting bloc that Trump will need to win over if his party wants to retain control of Congress.
Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
“He needs to stay focused on the economy,” Gerow said. Going into topics like transgender rights and wind turbines, as he did on Tuesday, “doesn’t help,” he added.
Trump has a crucial role to play next year as the party’s chief economic messenger, said Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“It’s the most effective messenger we have,” Hudson told Reuters.
(Reporting by Tim Reid, Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt, Nathan Layne, David Morgan and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Ross Colvin and Leslie Adler)