Trump Defends Economic Record as Americans Sour on Prices

Donald Trump is trying hard to convince Americans that the cost of living feels better than it actually does.

Speaking to McDonald’s franchise owners and suppliers on Monday, the US president painted a picture of inflation “back to normal,” and promised to push it even lower. It was an optimistic pitch delivered to an audience predisposed to applaud him, but one that contrasts sharply with the public mood.

“We have it down to a low level, but we’re going to get it a little bit lower,” Trump said. “We want perfection.”

He also returned to familiar ground: blaming Joe Biden for “the mess” he claims to have inherited and insisting Americans were “so damn lucky” he won in 2024. It was vintage Trump, heavy on confidence and light on nuance.

The problem is that voters don’t appear to agree. An NBC News poll this month found that 66 percent of Americans believe Trump has fallen short on affordability. Another 63 percent say his economic management overall hasn’t met expectations. That sentiment has already translated into political pain: Republicans were punished in early November’s off-year elections, losing ground in states like New Jersey and Virginia.

Still, Trump has tried to project action. On Friday he signed an executive order cutting tariffs on 200 consumer products, bananas, beef, coffee, orange juice, after months of downplaying the inflationary effects of his own trade war. He’s also floated $2,000 rebate cheques financed by tariffs and even a 50-year mortgage to soften housing costs.

Inflation has indeed dropped sharply from its 9.1 percent peak under Biden to the 3 percent level reached in October. But that’s still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, and the president’s escalating tariff salvos have made many economists brace for the opposite of “perfection.”

Unsurprisingly, Trump devoted a sizable portion of his remarks to praising McDonald’s, the chain he treats almost as an economic metaphor. He celebrated its decision to reintroduce extra value meals at $5 and $8, crediting the fast-food giant as an unlikely ally in his affordability crusade.

“Together we are fighting for an economy where everybody can win,” he told the room, framing his policy agenda as an ecosystem stretching from cashiers to franchise owners to the family waiting in line at the drive-through. “We’re getting prices down for this country,” he added, “and there’s no better leader or advocate than McDonald’s.”