Following a recent rally in Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump delivered a primetime speech from the White House on Wednesday, highlighting what he says are economic improvements since his return to office and contrasting them with conditions under Joe Biden. The address was aimed at easing voter worries about the cost of living ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, though commentators note that public skepticism over prices remains high.
President Donald Trump delivered a roughly 20‑minute primetime address on Wednesday evening from the White House, part of a broader effort to reset the economic narrative on affordability in his first year back in office.
According to an analysis by The Daily Wire, the speech followed a Pennsylvania rally and was framed as an attempt to blunt Democratic attacks over high prices and to position Republicans for the 2026 midterm elections, when the party is viewed as vulnerable to losing seats in the House.
From the White House podium, Trump used a series of charts to compare price changes during Joe Biden’s presidency with those since his own return to office. As summarized by The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro, the address highlighted data showing hotel rates up 37.4% under Biden versus down 5.1% under Trump; propane prices up 24.9% under Biden versus down 4.2% under Trump; gasoline up nearly 31% under Biden versus down 7% under Trump; and the cost of sporting events up nearly 50% under Biden versus down almost 10% under Trump.
Shapiro further reported that Trump pointed to private‑sector real wage gains averaging $1,048 since he returned to the White House, compared with what he described as almost $3,000 in wage losses under Biden, and to estimates that new yearly mortgage costs rose by almost $15,000 under Biden but have fallen by almost $3,000 under Trump.
In the address, Trump again criticized Democratic economic and health‑care policies. Citing his remarks, The Daily Wire noted that he blamed former President Biden and Democrats for elevated costs and referred to the Affordable Care Act as the “Unaffordable Care Act,” arguing that its problems are the responsibility of Democrats rather than Republicans. He also reprised his broader case that policies associated with Biden‑era immigration had contributed to economic strain, a line of argument he has made repeatedly in recent months.
NPR’s coverage of the speech describes Trump’s tone as defensive and notes that he used the nationally televised address to celebrate what he cast as achievements since returning to office, while attempting to reassure Americans uneasy about day‑to‑day expenses. In keeping with that framing, he portrayed himself as inheriting difficult economic conditions and working to fix them, while promising that his policies — including tariffs — would deliver tax relief and support job growth.
Yet both conservative and mainstream commentary emphasize the limits of such a reset. The Daily Wire piece cautions that, even where prices have come down from their peaks, many remain higher than before Biden took office and that years of inflation cannot be easily unwound. It points, for example, to grocery costs that, for some families, are still 30–40% higher than they were three or four years ago, and to the fact that many Americans feel the pinch most acutely in everyday purchases rather than in big‑ticket items that are bought infrequently.
NPR’s report likewise notes that Americans continue to express anxiety about their personal finances despite areas of economic improvement. Public polling discussed in that coverage shows that Trump’s economic message has yet to fully persuade a skeptical electorate, even as he and his allies argue that wage gains and some easing in costs demonstrate that his policies are working.
Looking ahead to 2026, The Daily Wire characterizes Republicans as facing significant headwinds. It reports that the GOP is trailing Democrats on the generic congressional ballot by a sizable margin and that, if the elections were held today, Republicans could be at risk of losing on the order of 20 House seats. That political backdrop helps explain why Trump has made affordability a central theme of his public appearances, including the primetime address and recent rallies.
While the specific polling figures on Trump’s job approval and detailed breakdowns of household budgeting pressures vary by survey and were not fully detailed in the publicly available NPR summary, multiple outlets agree that a large share of Americans say they still feel financially stretched. Analysts across the spectrum suggest that, unless voters begin to feel sustained relief in everyday costs, speeches alone may do little to change that perception.
