CNN host Kaitlan Collins is highlighting the “one thing” President Donald Trump didn’t do during his rally Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Trump promised Americans “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks,” but, as Collins noted, he didn’t propose a single new plan to do so.
“The facts are that prices are higher than they were when the president was sworn in last January,” she said on “The Source” Tuesday. “Inflation is practically in the same place that it was when he took over, and American households have more debt than ever right now.”
Collins shared footage at the top of her segment of Trump’s comments to the contrary.
“We’re bringing those prices down rapidly,” he said during his MAGA rally to rabid cheers from supporters. “Lower prices, bigger paychecks. You’re getting lower prices, bigger paychecks. Inflation, we’re crushing it. And you’re getting much higher wages.”
Collins argued after the clip concluded that this “rosy outlook” doesn’t work on “Americans who have been to the grocery store” in recent months, “watched their medical bills pile up” or tried to buy a home — and said most Americans “know what’s going on” economically.
“The president spoke for more than an hour tonight, way over an hour actually,” she said.
Collins continued, “Relishing the moment before his MAGA faithful. Dancing to his now-familiar playlist. One thing he notably did not do, though, this evening, is propose any new plans to address the economic anxiety that so many Americans are feeling.”
Trump has arguably done even less than that by dismissing the affordability issue entirely. He recently called concerns over high prices a Democratic “scam” and said the “biggest” problem is that Republicans don’t talk enough about his purported victories in cutting costs.
“The president’s go-to political message has often been more about assigning blame than usually projecting that he is feeling voters’ pain,” said Collins. “It’s a stance that even some of his own members of his own party have been sounding the alarm about.”
She added that many Republicans worry the affordability issue will hurt their party in the 2026 midterm elections, with even Bill O’Reilly suggesting it could be a serious problem for the GOP.
Trump appears to have taken at least some public-facing heed and recently crowned himself “THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT” in a social media rant about his unbridled confidence in the upcoming midterms.
Collins said sources have told CNN that Trump views current criticisms of his administration as more of a PR problem than one tied to actual policy. She went on to cite a recent Gallup poll showing that only 36% approve of how Trump is doing is job.
The president was notably asked Monday during an interview with Politico how he would grade his own performance on the economy. His answer spawned untold ridicule from critics on social media, as Trump said simply, “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”
