This week, during a luncheon for CEOs on the sidelines of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit in South Korea, Trump repeated that “energy prices are down.” 

“Gasoline prices are down. Grocery prices are down,” Trump told the business executives.

Gas prices are down. Last week’s consumer price index report by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics found that although gas prices increased by 4.2% during the month ending Sept. 30, they decreased by 0.5% during the year ending on that same date.

However, using the same measurement gauge, electricity prices went up. Electricity prices decreased by 0.5% during September, but they increased by 5.1% compared to last September. Simultaneously, piped gas prices also dropped by 1.2% last month, but they rose by 11.7% in contrast to last year.

As an aside, food prices writ large went up both during September and the past year by 0.2% and 3.1%, respectively.

Trump’s rhetoric echoes that of his once-rivals: former President Joe Biden and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who both individually struggled to address voters’ economic concerns, and ultimately led unsuccessful White House runs.

Before suspending his 2024 campaign, both Biden and his administration described post-pandemic and -American Rescue Plan Act price increases as “transitory,” messaging that did not resonate with voters and forced Biden to reckon with low approval ratings.

Clinton famously dismissed Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” contending instead that “America is already great.”

“I’m not here to declare victory – we’ve got a long way to go on the economy,” Biden told union workers in 2023 in Philadelphia. “I’m here to say we have more work to do. We have a plan that’s turning things around pretty quickly.”

When asked for a response, the White House underscored that Trump has acknowledged the political and economic problems posed by prices, including by declaring an energy emergency on his first day back in office in January and expediting “the expansion of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power generation.”

“It was Joe Biden who had a Hillary Clinton problem – while Americans pleaded for commonsense energy policies, his radical and destructive climate agenda caused electricity prices to soar by more than 30% in just four years,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Washington Examiner. “While many states have capitalized on their ability to ‘drill, baby, drill’ again, Democrat-led states continue to have higher electricity prices because of their obsession with unreliable and costly green energy sources like wind and solar.” 

A White House official added: “President Trump has also pushed for natural gas pipelines, and ended the Green New Scam of massive government handouts for wind and solar. The only viable way to meet the  growing energy demand and to lower energy prices is to unlock the potential of U.S. natural gas, coal, and establish robust nuclear power to grow our grid.”

Republican strategist Jim Carter reiterated that the average national price of electricity has “risen rapidly” since 2021 and that “prices vary widely by state” because of different “local fuel sources, regulatory policies, and the methods used to generate the electricity.” 

Carter cited Hawaii and California, which have the country’s highest electricity prices, averaging 37.29 cents and 29.07 cents per kW, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Although Republican-governed states tend to have some of the country’s lowest prices, so do New Mexico and Washington state, per the same data.

“The Trump administration’s tax and deregulatory policies are designed to produce more energy at lower cost, providing benefits economy-wide,” Carter, policy director for Republican public affairs firm Navigators Global, told the Washington Examiner. “Over time, those policies will help tame electricity prices.”

The White House also emphasized a Gallup poll this month that found a double-digit decrease in the number of respondents who considered the economy to be their most pressing concern compared to last October, 43% to 24%. 

“Fake News CNN can’t believe the massive drop in Americans who say the economy/inflation are the top problems facing the U.S. compared to last year,” the White House this week wrote on social media. “President Trump’s economy is DELIVERING — and Americans know it.”

Regardless, Trump’s average approval rating regarding inflation is net negative 27 percentage points, 36% approve-63% disapprove, according to RealClearPolitics. 

Pollster Lee Miringoff agreed that Trump and Republicans may experience political problems if “people experience a weakening economy.” 

“Impressions of President Trump are pretty much baked in so there is not likely to be a loss of credibility for him,” the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion director told the Washington Examiner. “Affordability is the issue more than a threat to Trump’s image.”

Even as the Federal Reserve on Wednesday decreased interest rates for the second time this year to counter an increasing unemployment rate, Republican strategist Doug Heye argued voters appear to be “pretty clear” that, irrespective of what is “happening in Washington, their concern is rising prices.” 

“Food prices have been a long concern, and with energy prices soaring – and home heating oil season fast approaching – those costs are an increasing concern, as well,” the former Republican National Committee communications director told the Washington Examiner. “How that is not the No. 1 focus from either party is surprising.”

However, fellow Republican strategist Alex Conant asserted Democrats “are trying to make this an issue and Trump won’t ignore their attacks.” 

“If higher electricity prices become a real issue, everyone is going to point the finger at someone else,” the Firehouse Strategies partner told the Washington Examiner. “The White House is doing a good job talking about the importance of permitting reform and investing in infrastructure, but higher prices are always a tough political problem.”

To that end, Democrats are attempting to make prices, especially electricity prices, an issue in next week’s off-year elections in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia before next year’s congressional contests. 

Trump claimed that he’d “already taken care of” inflation — a slap in the face to the millions of working families who are struggling to afford their rent and basic necessities like groceries, gas, and prescription drugs,” the Democratic National Committee told reporters after last week’s release of September’s consumer price index report.

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In reaction to the same report, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “inflation came in below market expectations in September thanks to President Trump’s economic agenda.”