Trump's 'Golden Age' Meets Working-Class Cost Pressure

Americans’ confidence in the economy fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in October. Mortgage rates reached their highest level in nearly three years, and unemployment rose the previous month. President Donald Trump called the country’s economy a “golden age,” while Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that people remain under financial pressure and said, “we're working on it.”

The contrast is playing out during the 2026 midterm campaign. Republican candidates are seeking a boost at events in deep-red areas. Recent economic data showed gasoline prices intensifying inflation, as more expensive oil and gas began pushing up prices elsewhere. The figures put household costs at the center of a campaign in which Trump and Vance have offered different descriptions of the economic situation.

Two messages on household costs

Trump complained in Nebraska earlier in October, “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.” At a Kentucky campaign event on Saturday, he said, “We're in the golden age of America. So our nation is doing better now than ever before.”

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. 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.”

Vance struck a different note. In Texas last month, he said “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” and “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 tied the issue to his working-class upbringing in a Rust Belt town: “I grew up in a working-class family. 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 his difference with Trump, Vance said the president was discussing new investments coming into the country and that changes take time.

Voters describe the strain

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 she trusted Trump to secure a victory over Iran in a way that benefited U.S. consumers, but added, “Everybody's real upset about the gas” and “groceries are out of sight.” “It's hard. It's really hard,” she said. “I think that people need to hear the truth.”

Santiago Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Texas college student who attended a rally last week for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, will vote for the first time this year. He 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.

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. 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.”

Campaign stakes

The report cited campaign events in deep-red areas where Republican candidates sought a boost, redistricting in Texas and Florida, and Trump's trip to Alaska amid a close Senate race. The campaign appearances have put the president's economic claims alongside voters’ accounts of fuel and grocery costs. Vance, by contrast, has acknowledged frustration and argued that investment and recovery take time.

The administration's two leading economic voices are presenting different emphases to voters: Trump points to a “golden age,” while Vance says people are struggling and that the administration needs to do more. The economic data cited in the report include falling confidence, rising unemployment and pressure from gasoline and other energy prices.