Trump gives himself ‘A-Plus’ on economy as voters struggle with rising costs

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump declared that the economy under his leadership was an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” during an interview with Politico on Tuesday, December 9.

In the interview with Dasha Burns, Trump blamed the Biden administration for the inflationary backdrop. He stated, “I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess.”

But a recent Politico poll showed that voters weren’t convinced. Roughly half of all voters, including nearly four in ten who backed Trump in 2024, said that the cost of living was as bad as they had ever experienced.

Trump insisted that prices were heading in the “right direction,” saying, “Prices are all coming down… Everything is coming down,” even though the Consumer Price Index showed a 3% annual increase as of September.

Fed chair decision looms as Trump pushes for rate cuts

The president’s political challenges are reportedly complicating his upcoming choice for a new Federal Reserve chair, a pick that could define the economic landscape for the remainder of his term.

Asked whether he expected candidates to pledge support for steep interest-rate cuts, Trump didn’t hesitate and said, “Yes.”

The biggest near-term threat to household budgets is the scheduled expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, expanded under Joe Biden, at the end of this year. Without action, premiums are projected to surge in 2026, and aid groups are already reporting a rising wave of pleas for help.

A bipartisan push for a deal continues to run into resistance, and any breakthrough would likely require direct involvement from the president.

Pressed on whether he’d back a temporary subsidy extension while he drafts a broader plan, Trump said only, “I don’t know. I’m gonna have to see,” before shifting to criticism of Democrats for being too generous to insurers.

Lingering uncertainty in health policy

Uncertainty still hangs over the administration’s approach. A late-November plan to temporarily extend the subsidies was abruptly put on hold, and despite years of promising a comprehensive Obamacare replacement, Trump offered no new details.

“I want to give the people better health insurance for less money. The people will get the money, and they’re going to buy the health insurance that they want,” he said.

When reminded that families are budgeting now for 2026 without clarity on premiums, Trump dismissed the concern, “Don’t be dramatic. Don’t be dramatic.”

Trump claims amendment misuse by wealthy foreigners

Trump declined to say whether he would try to revoke the citizenship of people born in the United States if he wins a landmark Supreme Court case on birthright citizenship.

The president instead emphasized that it would be “devastating” for him to lose the case, which the Court recently agreed to hear.

The case centers on the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, the principle that anyone born on US soil is automatically a citizen, regardless of their parents’ origins.

This right is enshrined in the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Pressed on whether a victory would prompt him to target the citizenship of individuals already born in the country, Trump said, “Honestly, I haven’t thought of that.”

He argued that the original intent of the amendment was to protect “the babies of s***es” and was tied specifically to the Civil War era.

Trump further claimed that the amendment was never meant to apply to what he described as “some rich person coming from another country” whose family would then gain US citizenship through birth.