U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks onstage during The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 03, 2025 in New York City.
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The latest report on inflation, delayed by the government shutdown, showed consumer prices rising 3% year-over-year in September, including a 3.1% uptick in cost for food at home.
As rising prices continue to affect consumers, President Donald Trump has pushed back on the idea that Americans are struggling financially.
“The word ‘affordability’ is a con job by the Democrats,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam.”
Lately, voters have expressed frustration with Trump’s handling of the economy. Around two-thirds of registered voters say the Trump administration has fallen short on the economy and the cost of living, according to a recent poll from NBC News.
When asked about Trump’s comments on Sunday, Bessent said that the administration was dealing with inflation issues leftover from the Biden administration and pointed to media coverage as a source of Americans’ view of the economy.
“The American people don’t know how good they have it,” he said. “Now, Democrats created scarcity, whether it was in energy or over-regulation, that we are now seeing this affordability problem, and I think next year we’re going to move on to prosperity.”
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