Trump cites cheaper groceries, gas as he pushes back on Dem affordability message

President Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night touting his administration’s economic success, after Democrats swept a series of elections in 2025 while campaigning primarily on platforms focused on “affordability.”

“They made the prices go up, and we’re bringing them down,” Trump told the crowd at a casino resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, to which he spoke for nearly two hours. “Lower prices, bigger salaries – you get lower prices, bigger salaries, and we get inflation – we crush it – and you get much higher wages. The only thing that’s going up really dramatically – it’s called the stock market and your 401k.”

Affordability has become a hot spot heading into the midterms, with Republicans now fine-tuning their messaging on the economy after a slew of Democrats won reelection in 2025 on a platform focused on cutting costs. Before Tuesday night’s speech in Pennsylvania, Trump told Politico in an interview that he would give his economy an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade, but a national Fox News poll in November found that about 76% of voters reported they viewed the economy unfavorably, up from 67% who reported the same in July, and up from 70% who said the same at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term.

Trump insists prices are “going down,” and blames Biden – but voters say they are still being squeezed

Real wages were among one of several statistics Trump shared with voters on Tuesday to demonstrate how much better the economy has been under him compared to Biden. According to Trump, real wages were “down” by $3,000 under Biden, while under the second Trump administration, the president said, the typical factory worker saw their real wages increase by $1,300, construction workers by more than $1,800, and miners by $3,300. Trump added that under Biden, real wages for construction workers fell by $3,500.

To set the record straight for the public, Trump also touched on the prices of everyday goods, sharing charts with the audience showing how prices differed under his predecessor. Citing a report from Walmart, Trump said the cost of a full Thanksgiving meal, trimmings, turkey and all, is 25% cheaper under his administration than it was under Biden. The price of Thanksgiving turkeys specifically is also down 33%, he said.

Trump added that egg prices “dropped like a rock” during his second term, noting that their price has fallen by 80% since March.

Trump’s approval rises as Republicans rally behind president’s affordability agenda: Poll

Trump also said, “One of the most important ways we beat inflation is to unleash American energy, including oil, gas, and beautiful clean coal,” citing data that he said shows 22 different states have lower gas prices today than they have in the past seven years. Trump noted that three of them have gas that costs $1.99 per gallon.

President Donald Trump pointed to falling prices for everyday goods during his speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images, iStock)

Trump has also touted falling mortgage rates under his administration, $18 trillion in new private investments compared to Biden’s investments of less than $1 trillion, and a hot stock market as examples of how his economy is doing well.

“I can’t call the affordability hoax because I agree the prices have been too high,” Trump said while attacking Democrats over the economy Tuesday night. “I can’t call it a hoax because they’ll misinterpret that. But they use the word affordability and that’s their only word.” “They say ‘affordability’ and everyone says, ‘Oh, that means Trump’s prices are high.’ No, our prices are way down compared to the highest prices in our country’s history.”

Trump added during his speech on Tuesday evening that Democrats talking about affordability “is like Bonnie and Clyde talking about public safety.”

Then-President Joe Biden speaks to guests at Ingeteam Inc., an electrical equipment manufacturer, on Aug. 15, 2023 in Milwaukee. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Click here to download the FOX NEWS app

Meanwhile, amid his scathing criticism of Democrats over their “affordability” messaging, Trump posited that he didn’t have to “sell” his administration’s policies to anyone, because they were “the right policy.”

“We don’t have to sell out men in women’s sports. We don’t have to sell out transgender people to everyone. We don’t have to sell open borders where the whole world is allowed into our country from prisons and from everywhere,” Trump told the crowd. “This is our message. They gave you high prices. They gave you the highest inflation rate in history. We assure you that we are reducing these prices quickly.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.