JD Vance admits voters have 'every right to be impatient' on economy, insists Dems caused crisis

JD Vance acknowledged voters’ frustration with high prices and the economic situation, but urged patience, stressing that reforms take time
PUBLISHED DEC 5, 2025
Vice President JD Vance admitted voters were ‘impatient’ on the economy but slammed Democrats for creating a ‘totally bulls*** narrative' (Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance admitted voters were ‘impatient’ on the economy but slammed Democrats for creating a ‘totally bulls*** narrative' (Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance acknowledged on Thursday, December 4, that American voters are growing "impatient" with the pace of economic recovery, though he vehemently rejected the idea that the current administration was to blame for the high prices.

In a candid interview with NBC News, Vance addressed the mounting pressure on the White House as inflation and affordability remained top concerns for the electorate heading into the 2026 midterm cycle.

CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 3:  Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance arrives onstage after winning t
Vice President JD Vance told NBC News that voters have 'every right to be impatient' regarding the economy (Getty Images)

JD Vance rejects 'hoax' of Republican blame 

"I think the president certainly understands that prices got way too high," Vance said.

He noted that while the administration was working to bring costs down, the public's frustration was also palpable.

"I think I would certainly say voters are impatient. I think voters have every right to be impatient," the vice president admitted. "We are impatient, too, and we’re going to see if what we do and what we think we have to do converges with what the voters think we should be doing."

CANTON, OHIO - JULY 28: U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to the press at Metallus, a metal products manufacturer, on July 28, 2025 in Canton, Ohio. Vance is traveling in Ohio to promote what the Trump administration says are the benefits of the
Vice President JD Vance spoke to the press at Metallus, a metal products manufacturer, on July 28, 2025, in Canton, Ohio (Maddie McGarvey-Pool/Getty Images)

Despite validating voter frustration, Vance pushed back aggressively against criticisms that President Trump's policies were stalling recovery.

He characterized the accusations from the left as a "hoax" designed to shift responsibility away from the previous administration.

"But I think what the president’s saying is the idea that, 11 months into the administration, that we could solve all of the affordability problems created by Democrats - I mean, that’s the hoax," Vance argued.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: U.S. Vice President JD Vance (C), speaks alongside President Donald Trump as Trump holds a dinner with leaders of Central Asian countries in the East Room of the White House on November 6, 2025, in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Vance labeled the idea that Republicans caused the affordability crisis a 'total bulls*** narrative' (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

He bluntly added, "The hoax is the idea that it’s our fault and not the Democrats’ fault. And I do think that’s a totally bulls*** narrative."

Vance urged voters to give the administration's policies more runway, noting that structural economic changes take time to materialize.

"I think that the reason why we have elections every two years and not every year... is you’ve got to give a little bit of time for this stuff to work," he said.

(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Trump called Democrats’ ‘affordability’ push a ‘fake narrative’ (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

President Trump slams ‘affordability’ as a hollow talking point

Vance's comments echoed sentiments expressed by President Trump during a marathon Cabinet meeting earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, Trump dismissed the Democrats' focus on "affordability" as a hollow talking point.

"There is a fake narrative that the Democrats talk about: affordability," the president told his Cabinet. "They just say the word. It doesn't mean anything to anybody."

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting of his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. A bipartisan Congressional investigation has begun regarding Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's role in ordering U.S. military strikes on small boats in the waters off Venezuela that have killed scores of people, which Hegseth said are intended
President Trump claimed that 'affordability' was a 'fake narrative' used by Democrats (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump argued that he inherited a broken economy characterized by "the worst inflation in history."

"There was no affordability, nobody could afford anything. The prices were massively high," Trump insisted.

Vance supported this view during the meeting, stating, "If you look at every affordability crisis that's confronting the American people today, it is traceable directly to a problem caused by Joe Biden and congressional Democrats."

U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of the largest manufacturers of semiconductor chips, plans to invest $100 billion in new manufacturing facilities in the United States. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump took a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Polls show warning signs for Trump

The administration's defensive posture comes amid troubling polling numbers.

A Fox News poll of registered voters conducted in mid-November found that the president was currently underwater on his handling of the economy.

The survey showed a stark 61% disapproval rating versus just 38% approval, with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

PLANTATION, FLORIDA - JANUARY 22: A Lucky Market grocery store is seen as the chain made public that
A recent Fox News poll showed that 61% of voters disapproved of the President's handling of the economy (Getty Images)

These figures suggested that the "impatient" voters Vance referred to were becoming increasingly skeptical of the White House's message as the 2026 elections drew nearer. 

"We’ll find that out in about a year," Vance noted regarding the upcoming midterms. "And we’re just going to keep on working as hard as we can until then."

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