The White House admitted that it’s “a point of frustration” that public sentiment regarding the economy does not reflect positive economic data.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt forcefully defended President Donald Trump’s economic record during Thursday’s press briefing, arguing that he inherited an “economic mess” from former President Joe Biden.
“Every day things are getting better, and they will continue to,” Leavitt said. “President Trump understands better than any politician in this city the pain that the American consumer has been feeling for years now because of the last administration’s policies. You heard him in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania this past week, campaigning and talking to these voters, saying, ‘I was elected to fix this problem, and I am fixing it.’”
Only 31% of adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to new polling from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Leavitt argued that Trump’s apportioning responsibility concerning the economy to Biden does not mean he “is discarding the feelings of the American people.”
“He gets it better than anyone, which is why his entire administration has been focused on the issue of the economy and energy prices since Day One,” she said.
Leavitt was peppered with similar questions throughout the briefing, particularly after Trump, during this week’s rally in Pennsylvania, said, “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice.”
“Look, what the president is saying is that if we want products made right here in America, if we want them to be made from American small businesses, which is a large part of the reason the president has effectively implemented tariffs, then we’re going to have better quality products right here in the United States,” Leavitt said. “Maybe you’ll pay $1 or two more, but you will get better quality, and you’ll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American.”
She then reiterated the positive inflation data and lower gas prices, previewing tax cuts that filers will receive next year thanks to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“So the best is yet to come,” Leavitt said. “The president is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that’s what mixed signals in terms of what that looks like.”
Although the White House has been averaging inflation since Trump’s inauguration, September’s annualized consumer price index rose by 3%, the same year-on-year rate as last January, when Biden left office. Data related to November will be released next Thursday, following the federal government shutdown, which prevented the Trump administration from reporting figures for October.
September’s report revealed that gas prices have decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous September.
Earlier this week, Trump made his debut on the 2026 campaign trail in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, to make his case regarding the economy and the cost of living after Democrats made last month’s off-year elections about affordability.
TRUMP CAMPAIGNING ‘LIKE IT’S 2024’ COULD BE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR GOP IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Trump has emphasized that messaging on “affordability” is a Democratic “hoax” and “con job.” However, he pivoted this week to say what he is doing to fix it.
“Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety, and they are really the, truly, the enemy of the working class when they do it,” he told the crowd at Mount Airy Casino Resort.