President Trump will deliver a primetime address tonight as his approval rating sits below 40 percent and Americans feel increasingly bleak about the economy.
Though he's recently mocked Democrats' focus on affordability, their focus on pocketbook issues is seen as why they swept key off-year elections in November. And the president has tried to address the issue, recently hitting the road to make his economic case. He pitched supporters in Pennsylvania last week by promising bigger tax returns in April thanks to his policies, as well as promoting "Trump accounts" for children born between 2025-2028.
But his labeling of the economy as "A+++++" in a recent Politico interview was knocked by even some conservatives as tone-deaf, however.
Wednesday's address will provide the president another opportunity to regain the economic narrative, though the White House says the speech will cover an array of issues.
"He'll be addressing the country about all of his historic accomplishments over the past year and maybe teasing some policy that will be coming in the new year, as we head into this Christmas season," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday.
Leavitt specifically cited border security and lower gas prices as two likely focuses of Trump's address.
The address comes as approval of Trump's handling of the economy has hit a new low, according to the latest NPR PBS News Marist Poll. Fully 45% of Americans said prices are their top economic concern right now, far ahead of the next-highest category – housing prices – at 18%.
The various tariffs President Trump has unilaterally imposed are driving prices higher, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reported last week. He told reporters that inflation growth is happening entirely in goods (as opposed to services), and that the growth is "entirely in sectors where there are tariffs."
Trump will have another opportunity to talk directly to voters on Friday, when he will deliver a speech in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
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