OPINION: President Donald Trump has not been shy in telling us how well he has done as the leader of this great nation, calling his second term “the most successful presidency in history” and stating that the only thing he has struggled with is “explaining how good the country is doing.” This raises the question: Should we take the president at his word? Or are things not as great as we are being told they are?
“We have the best economy in the world. There is no economy like this economy. And the only thing we don’t have is good public relations. We don’t seem to be able to get the word across.” These are the words of President Donald Trump during a Sept. 30 interview regarding the nation’s well-being. He went on to state that just two years ago, during former President Joe Biden’s term, the country was “dead,” and since taking office in January 2025, Trump has made America “the hottest country in the world.”
For the average consumer, these statements seem like a slap in the face. While Trump gloats about all the “great things” he has done for the economy, the cost of living for the average person in the U.S. continues to rise, reaching unaffordable levels for many.
We can see this notion reflected in things such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the average change in prices consumers pay for a market basket of goods and services. According to Federal Reserve Economic Data, since Trump took office, the CPI has risen approximately 4.7%. This means the average price for buying a standard basket of consumer goods has gotten 4.7% more expensive.
While the CPI is a good way to track how average prices of goods and services as a whole have changed over a given time period, it is a broad statistic that tracks so many things that I don’t think it does justice in showing how much more expensive things have become for the average citizen.
On the other hand, the prices of gas and energy have been a big point of contention between the two major political parties. Trump campaigned on the promise that he would “[get] gasoline below $2 a gallon.” However, since taking office, he has done anything but that, as the national average of regular gas prices has risen about 40% and is now up to $4.35 per gallon.
While it may appear on the surface that I am being overly critical of the president, I can assure you that I am not the only one questioning his effects on the economy. According to a recent AP-NORC poll, 73% of U.S. adults disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. Furthermore, an estimated 65% of people now blame Trump and his policies for persistently high costs.
So while Trump is busy running “the most successful presidency in history,” the average person continues struggling to scrape by due to Trump’s disregard for his actual economic impact. This is reflected in his approval rating, which is now all the way down to 37%, the lowest it has been during his entire second term.
To put it the simplest way I can, our president is making life worse for the average consumer day by day, yet refuses to accept the consequences of his actions. To him, apparently “the best economy in the world” is one in which the top 0.1% of earners gain 8,000 times more wealth than the bottom 50%.
