Trump tells Dasha Burns he’s doing a hell of a job.
Photo: YouTube/POLITICO
If you think about it, Donald Trump’s unparalleled high regard for himself gives him certain advantages in politics. Unlike most humans, he appears never to waste a moment indulging self doubts, examining his navel, back-tracking, or apologizing. His supreme confidence in his own judgment inspires confidence in others who share his views and aspirations. And even when he’s wrong, his refusal to ever admit it provides a certain level of assurance to those who are counting on him to be right. This seems to be a particularly valuable commodity to MAGA conservatives, who spend an inordinate amount of time denying every defeat and spinning every success into a world-historical moment (e.g., Trump’s incredible, historic 2024 landslide that was nothing of the kind).
On the other hand, when Trump’s own interests demand a sharp U-turn, the inability to admit error or weakness can become a real problem. Check out this exchange from an interview with the president conducted by Politico’s Dasha Burns:
Burns: I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And … and I wonder what grade you would give your economy.
Trump: A-plus.
Burns: A-plus?
Trump: Yeah, A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.
Burns: Well, it’s interesting because I … I talked to a supporter of yours. Her name is Melanie from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. And she loves you. She gave you overall an A-plus-plus grade. But here’s what she said about the economy. She said, “Groceries, utility, insurance, and the basic cost of running small business keep rising faster than wages.” She also says that not enough is being done. Mr. President, this is one of your supporters. …
Trump: [W]hat you have to understand … I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. Look at energy. You and I discussed before the interview, energy … energy has come down incredibly. When energy comes down, everything … ’cause it’s so much bigger than any other subject.
You will notice Trump doesn’t address the many rising costs his worried supporter cited, other than asserting lower energy costs are more important than all of them. And more importantly, he’s a billionaire lecturing struggling families to buck up and realize how great things are. His advisors have to be cringing.
At the moment, it’s hard to find a Republican political operative, pollster, or elected official outside the White House who doesn’t recognize that voter concerns over “affordability” (a term covering both cost-of-living indicators and efforts to increase the supply of desirable goods and services like housing, health care, and child care) are an immediate crisis for the party that runs the federal government. It has palpably fed major offyear Democrats gains in 2025. It’s very high on every list of public concerns. And a sizable percentage of Trump’s own 2024 voters — the voters his party needs in order to hang onto control of Congress next year — don’t think he’s doing a good job on these issues, as a new large-sample Politico poll dramatized:
New polling shows many Americans have begun to blame President Donald Trump for the high costs they’re feeling across virtually every part of their lives — and it’s shifting politics.
Almost half — 46 percent — say the cost of living in the U.S. is the worst they can ever remember it being, a view held by 37 percent of 2024 Trump voters. Americans also say that the affordability crisis is Trump’s responsibility, with 46 percent saying it is his economy now and his administration is responsible for the costs they struggle with.
The same poll showed that 59 percent of Trump 2024 voters hold him at least partially responsible for the affordability problem. And more generally, according to the Silver Bulletin polling averages, Trump’s net job approval ratings on the economy have been underwater since February, and now stand at minus-17.8 percent. On inflation, his net approval is minus-28.3 percent.
Trump is about to go on a speech-making trip to trumpet his administration’s commitment to doing something to make life more affordable for Americans. But he keeps stepping forcefully on his message. Last week at a televised Cabinet meeting he denounced (and not for the first time) the very idea of an affordability problem as a “Democratic hoax,” and suggested voters should be grateful for the many economic blessings he’s bestowed upon them. And now he’s giving himself fabulous marks for his stewardship of the economy. The polls suggest the public thinks he’s earned about a C-minus. A bit of humility might do wonders for Trump at the moment. But that’s just not in his makeup.
