A growing number of voters who delivered Donald Trump to the White House say they are feeling the pinch, and many now hold him personally responsible.
A new POLITICO poll shows 46% of Americans say the cost of living is 'the worst they can remember', and crucially, 37% of 2024 Trump voters agree, with more than half of respondents saying the Trump administration bears at least some responsibility for rising prices.
The data, gathered from a 2,098-responder online survey conducted 14–17 November, exposes a fissure in the president's coalition: a chunk of his own voters increasingly put affordability ahead of partisan loyalty.
A Poll That Should Alarm The Right
The findings follow broader evidence that the issue of affordability is reshaping voter sentiment.
POLITICO's separate analysis earlier this month also mapped a split inside Trump's base between self-identified 'MAGA' Republicans and non-MAGA Trump voters, with the latter group far more likely to blame the president for economic pain and far less likely to be reliable down-ballot Republican backers.
Americans continue to say affordability is out of control, and many have begun to blame Trump, a new Politico Poll found.
— POLITICO (@politico) December 4, 2025
Almost half — 46% — say the U.S. cost of living is the worst they can remember it being, a view held by 37% of 2024 Trump voters.
➡️https://t.co/yCc6DGASxB pic.twitter.com/PoHZbPJiFl
That internal divide helps explain why off-year Democratic gains in 2025 were concentrated in districts where economic angst was high.
Interviews and local reporting corroborate the numbers. In a widely circulated segment, a long-time Trump voter told campaign surrogates she was 'not happy' with price rises and implored the president to 'please do something,' only to be met with an answer that many voters found out of touch.
'Beef we have to get down,' Trump replied, insisting broadly that prices were 'way down'. The exchange circulated on national media and underscored the gap between elite economic indicators and household experience.
The Political Cost Of Economic Disconnect
Economists point to multiple drivers for the squeeze felt at kitchen tables: recent tariff policy, housing costs, and uneven wage gains for lower- and middle-income households. Official statistics release schedules were also disrupted by this year's federal funding lapse, complicating the policy conversation and public messaging.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has noted adjustments to its release calendar and warned that some monthly data were delayed, reducing the frequency of clean monthly snapshots for policymakers and voters alike.
The Federal Reserve, traditionally the anchor of inflation expectations, has itself been wrestling with mixed signals. Markets and economists were debating a possible further cut to interest rates in December, even as Fed officials cautioned against prematurely declaring victory over inflation. This dynamic complicates any immediate political relief for households. That means the White House's claim that inflation is under control collides with lived experience for many Americans.
For Republicans, the political consequence is simple: when voters feel the strain on groceries, rents, and energy bills, they punish the party in power, even if they voted for the incumbent. Democrats made 'affordability' their rallying cry in recent off-year races, a message that, according to analysts, helped produce unexpected victories where economic anger was most acute. That tactical success has prompted some GOP strategists to quietly urge a shift in messaging and policy focus.
The White House Response? Dismiss, Defend, Reframe
Faced with polling that shows his own voters uneasy, the president has pushed back forcefully against the narrative of an affordability crisis.
At a recent Cabinet meeting, he dismissed the Democrats' messaging as a 'fake narrative' and a 'con job', saying 'they just say the word. It doesn't mean anything to anybody'. The remark, broadcast and transcribed widely, crystallised the administration's rhetorical posture: minimise the narrative and emphasise headline economic indicators. That posture, however, risks coming across as tone-deaf to voters whose budgets are stressed.
Administration officials have countered with lists of policy actions and claims of economic progress, while also pointing to legislative measures they say will relieve household budgets. Yet pollsters and strategists warn that enumeration of long-term reforms will not substitute for immediate relief; the political clock for persuading anxious voters is short.
If the POLITICO poll is a harbinger, the GOP's path to maintaining Congressional control in 2026 will demand urgent, tangible measures that reduce everyday costs, or a dramatic improvement in voters' economic perceptions.
The bedrock lesson from recent races is blunt: voters punish perceived economic neglect, even from the leader they backed.
