Donald Trump has spent months struggling with a brutal dynamic: The more the president fails to deliver on his economic promises, the more the public turns against him. The result has been a steep slide in the Republican’s approval rating, as Americans express a deep dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and the ongoing affordability crisis.
With this in mind, Trump and his team decided it was time to go on the offensive. They announced plans for a campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania where the president would put his best foot forward, presenting a spirited defense of his record while pushing back against assumptions about the slumping economy.
That was the idea, anyway.
Instead, the president did what he always does at these events: In remarks delivered in a casino, he peddled a variety of foolish claims about the subject at hand while veering into ugly nonsense about immigrants, windmills and transgender people. (Given the seriousness of the subject and his own unfortunate record in the casino business, the White House probably could’ve chosen a better venue.)
The Republican did, however, make an unexpected argument to Americans concerned about affordability and the cost of living.
As part of an unscripted riff on his trade agenda, Trump declared, “You know, you can give up certain products. You can give up pencils.” He added, “You always need steel. You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter — two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”
So as the public sours on the state of the economy and families struggle with rising costs, the Republican president’s instinct was to tell Americans to be satisfied with less.
Nearly a half-century ago, as U.S. consumers struggled with the cost of home-heating oil, then-President Jimmy Carter encouraged Americans to turn down the thermostat and wear a sweater. Nearly 50 years later, as the nation faces a different kind of malaise, the incumbent president wants Americans struggling with the cost of living to “give up certain products.” Carter’s message was not well received then, and there’s no reason to assume that Trump’s pitch will fare any better now. Complicating matters is the fact that while the Republican expects Americans to make sacrifices in response to his failing agenda, Trump doesn’t appear personally willing to make comparable sacrifices of his own. On the contrary, the incumbent president remains focused on his new marble bathroom, his ever-expanding plans for a wildly unnecessary White House ballroom and his frequent trips to Florida, where he hangs out at the glorified country club he owns and profits from, palling around with his extremely wealthy customers at “Great Gatsby”–themed soirees. It’s something to keep in mind as Trump tells Americans to buy fewer toys for their kids two weeks before Christmas.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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