Since Democrats swept to victories in Virginia and New Jersey elections last month, the Trump administration has been sharpening its focus on the economy. President Trump even declared "affordable is our word." Now, the White House is taking it a step further, with reports that Trump will launch a nationwide tour to promote his economic agenda. A White House spokesperson confirms that Trump will visit Pennsylvania next week, with other events likely to follow this month and in the new year. "The president will discuss how he and the administration continue to focus on delivering on his Day One priority of ending Joe Biden's inflation crisis," said the spokesperson.
Trump is likely reading the political tea leaves, after months of poor polling on the economy followed by the November elections. "I think (Trump) saw what happened in November when (Republicans) had some losses, then he got involved in the race in Tennessee and was able to pull out a victory there for that candidate," says Jeff Crouere, political analyst and podcast host. "So I think this is energizing him to get out there and sell his message about the economy...he thinks he has a good message to sell, that things are moving in the right direction."
The president does appear to have some economic winds at his back as he prepares to hit the road. Gas prices dropped to a four-year low this week, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping broke new records, the stock market is near record highs, and inflation remains essentially flat. With all of that, Trump and the White House are moving to take back the economic narrative ahead of next year's midterms. "It's all about the economy," says Crouere. "That is always the number one issue in elections, and it certainly was a big factor in the Democrat victories in November, because 'affordability' was the buzzword."
"And I think (Trump) wants to tackle that head-on, the affordability issue."
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