Trump Claims Golden Age as Households Face Higher Costs

That month, Americans’ confidence in the economy fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate reached its highest level in nearly three years, and unemployment rose the previous month. Against that pressure, President Donald Trump called the economy a “golden age.” Vice President JD Vance acknowledged people were struggling: “we’re working on it.”

Conda Little, a 76-year-old retiree who saw Trump in Dalton, Georgia, on Friday, said, “I think he talks it up,” and “I think Vance is more real.” She said gas had people “real upset” and groceries were “out of sight.” “It’s hard. It’s really hard,” she said. “I think that people need to hear the truth.”

The costs people are living with

Economic data released that month showed high gasoline prices intensifying inflation, as more expensive oil and gas began pushing up prices elsewhere. People paying for daily necessities are left to weigh campaign-stage promises against what they can afford.

At a Kentucky campaign event on Saturday, Trump said, “We’re in the golden age of America. So our nation is doing better now than ever before.” Earlier in October, in Nebraska, he complained, “They hit me with affordability, and that’s the first time I ever heard the word used.” He told reporters he gave himself “an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything,” and dismissed affordability concerns as a “hoax.”

Trump has acknowledged high gas prices at times, but called them “a small price to pay” for keeping the United States and the world safe with the Iran war. People buying fuel pay that price, while the president’s account of the economy asks them to accept the bargain.

Two campaign scripts, one pressure

Vance said in Texas last month that “there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress.” At a CBS News town hall that aired Saturday, he said, “I recognize that gas prices are too high right now,” followed by “we’re working on it.” He added, “We need to do more, and we can certainly do better.”

Vance argued that Democratic predecessors had left the country in a deep hole and that the administration needed more time to recover. He invoked his working-class upbringing in a Rust Belt town, saying, “When gas prices were high, I know that it made my grandmother suffer, and I’m sure that you’re struggling with it in a variety of ways.” Asked about the difference between his and Trump’s messages, Vance said Trump was discussing new investments coming into the country and that changes take time.

The electoral pitch gives voters competing explanations: Trump’s claim of a booming economy and Vance’s promise that the administration is working on the problem. The report also describes Republican candidates seeking a boost at campaign events in deep-red areas, redistricting in Texas and Florida, and Trump’s trip to Alaska amid a close Senate race. It reports no grassroots mutual-aid effort or self-organized response to rising costs.

The people at the bottom hear the claims

Santiago Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Texas college student who attended a rally last week for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and will vote for the first time this year, said he might consider voting Republican, but not while Trump was in charge. “I think he’s out of touch, I think he’s never seen what a true day as a Texan or anybody in general who is in the working class,” Rodriguez said.

Mary Bunker, 67, a Republican who attended Trump’s Monday rally near Wichita, Kansas, works multiple jobs, including as a waitress and DoorDash driver. High gas prices affected her, she said, but she supported tax breaks Trump signed into law the previous year. “I think he’s a very good businessman,” Bunker said. “He’s been in business a long time, so I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

Cindy Massengill, 67, who attended Trump’s event in Dalton, said she thought he was doing the best he could. “I’m positive that he’s got done more than any other president after the mess we were left with Obama and Biden,” she said. Trump, meanwhile, spoke about beautifying Washington and building a large White House ballroom. During a visit to an economically struggling part of Arizona, he spoke about receiving a luxury jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One. In speeches Friday and Saturday, he joked that diners at his Mar-a-Lago club would pay “$5,000” for “one hamburger and a small dessert.”