特朗普“黄金时代”叙事与选民负担能力焦虑冲突

Catherine Lucey is traveling with the president in New Jersey. I'm glad to say she joins us now live. Catherine, it's great to see you. The president talking about the golden age, which you're seizing on in your great column. With eighty days to the midterms, however, there are great great questions about the state of our economy, prices, of course, the cost of energy with the war in Iran, and a lot of Republicans who are running for election right now, not named Donald Trump, are pretty worried about the narrative coming out of the White House.

What's the administration think? I mean, that's right. You know, the president, like we saw last night, talking about a golden age, you know, saying he doesn't regret anything with the Iran war. He talked on his way there about how great, the economy was doing from the perspective of Wall Street. But what we're seeing is his his narrative and his messaging really bump up against the concerns of a lot of Americans. And we see this in polling.

We see this in our reporting that Americans remain deeply concerned about the economy. They are concerned about Trump's handling the economy. People are frustrated about prices, and those concerns continue to mount. People are frustrated about, gas prices and the Iran war and the impact that's had on oil. Mhmm. And so you have this situation where the president is pitching, you know, one narrative about the economy, and and there is some data to back it up.

But voters lived experience is very, very different, and this puts Republicans running in those midterm races, in a tough position. They're trying to address cost of living concerns. They don't wanna criticize the president, and they're running against Democrats who have really seized against affordability as their leading midterm message and are hammering them on it. And, you know, the White White House says the president has a positive story to tell.

He wants to talk about, the the tax bill from last year. He wants to talk about the wins that he's had. But there are certainly some Republicans who say he also needs to acknowledge, how voters are feeling, and would like to see more on that front. You know, Catherine, you mentioned gas prices. The president did talk about that last night. Let's listen what he had to say. For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country really is the number one state sponsor of terror in the world.

We don't wanna have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4. It's okay. I mean, it's I'm not I'm not I'll never apologize. I did the right thing. That, of course, was president Trump last night. I mean, gas prices, this is about something you know, you feel it in your pocketbook or your wallet. How does this resonate with voters? Does this make an impact to have the president say something like this, Catherine?

Do do voters react negatively to it? Because polls certainly show this is not a popular president right now. Also, this is not a popular president and gas prices are not popular, and and this is the thing that was a problem as well for president Joe Biden. One of the things with gas, gas and groceries are a thing that people are paying for every week, every couple days. So that number really hits them. They see it constantly, and so it really weighs on people.

I was out earlier this year, a couple months ago in, you know, Iowa, a state that's been, like, really a battleground state this year. Mhmm. And there were a lot of voters who said, you know, I understand what president Trump's trying to do in Iran, but, you know, I'm worried about how long this is gonna go. And I think that's part of the problem even for some of our supporters is just how how long is this gonna take.

And, certainly, that that clip, I mean, if you're running against a Republican, I could see Democrats, you know, try to use that to to suggest that the president is is not in touch with how voters are feeling. You know, we played that clip of the president last evening to congresswoman, Gwen Moore, democrat from Wisconsin whose eyes popped when she heard him say a teeny little bit more. It's $4.07 nationally today, Catherine, in New York where the president was speaking, $4.13.

What are you hearing $4. That's hard for people. Absolute so what are you hearing off the record, off the air from the administration knowing that these prices might still be right where they are now in November? It's a mix, honestly, guys. I think, you know, they do really feel like there are positive things they have done. They use and you saw the president talk about some of those things last night. You know, they wanna talk about no tax on tips, you know, some of the other efforts they've made, you know, some of other things that they they think are an argument about prices.

But, you know, there there is an acknowledgment that they're they're not sure how or when this the conflict turnaround is gonna end or, you know, when this is gonna come down. They do keep arguing that they believe me for the president to say this publicly, you know, that when this conflict ends, those those prices will come down. We will see if that happens. But, yeah, this is a it's a it's a tough situation for those Republicans running in in tight races because it's not really clear what that timeline is gonna be.

Catherine, a favorite scapegoat of president Trump is president Biden. He's a fan of saying he inherited a historically bad economy. I recall coming off the Biden administration, we talked about American exceptionalism and that The United States was the envy of the world. It feels very different. We talk a lot about a k shaped economy. Yes. The market maybe be hitting records, at certain points or recent points, but there are lot of Americans that certainly don't feel that or benefit from it.

What do the statistics say? Bloomberg, we love data. Is it a good economy that, president Trump is overseeing right now? I I don't even know if that's in my paper to say if it's a good or bad economy. I think from where I sit, though, for people's lived experience, many Americans do not feel like this is a good economy. They feel like prices keep rising. They feel like they can't get ahead. People are struggling with the cost of gas, with the cost of food, with the cost of housing.

And so people don't feel like and I think that's, you know and and that's a thing that we we have that's been growing, and that's a feeling that's been growing for some time. But, certainly, president Trump has been president for, well over a year now. It is his economy. He is responsible for it, and, and people are really frustrated. President said last evening you remember the whole don't take him literally, take him seriously line in the sometimes you don't know which one to choose here.

He told that crowd last evening, and it did sound like he was kinda joking, but maybe not, that when this is all said and done in the war with Iran that we would make the Strait Of Hormuz US territory. Should we take that seriously, literally, or neither? He he was laughing a little bit as he said it. I think the White House, you know, later tried to clarify that that wasn't a a serious proposal. I I think I I think what he is trying to do is project strength.

Yep. He is trying to he is trying to make clear that he thinks he still has cards to play. You know, you you obviously, the president the White House and the administration is talking about more economic moves. And so the president, you know, is is looking for a path forward and, ultimately, an off ramp here. They have been struggling to do that, and that we know that privately, this situation has been a great frustration for him and that he is frustrated they have not been able to figure a way a way forward.

You know, what's interesting too, Catherine Joe, I don't I'm sure you guys tal