It’s The Affordability, Stupid

James Carville famously quipped “it’s the economy, stupid,” ‘way back in 1992, and he wasn’t wrong. People vote their pocketbooks, and going into the midterms they are HURTING—and the White House knows it.

The President acknowledged this less than a minute into his speech:

“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it. 

“When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. 

“This happened during a Democrat administration, and it's when we first began hearing the word affordability.”

Affordability—yes, he said it. He then went on to remind people just what a train wreck he inherited from old Joe, including a massive inflation rate that has since come down significantly. Kudos to the President for that.

Let’s be honest: Bidenflation was real, and brutal. The official figures put the cumulative inflation rate during the Biden regime at roughly 20%. That’s what they admitted to. But, if you know about sites like shadowstats.com, you know those figures are bogus, and the REAL rate is roughly twice that.

Let that sink in: the real, actual, pain-in-the-wallet inflation rate under Biden was close to 40%—and a few months isn’t enough to bring those prices down. That’s the cold ugly reality—and it’s what’s going to get the GOP spanked in the midterms if something doesn’t happen, and soon.

Well, that; and the inactivity of our corrupt, compromised, cuckolded, RINO-infested Congress, the lack of any significant action from the DOJ against our Enemies Domestic, the gaslighting on the Epstein files, a new War for Oil in Venezuela, the fracturing of the President's MAGA base into MIGA and America First—little things like that.

Some of us have been deplorables, and now we’re lowlifes. Same song, different verse…we’ve been here before. Remember how it turned out then? I do.

So, yes; the President's speech was a kickoff for the midterms, in which Trump himself will be the Number One Issue.

The President lauded his own efforts—securing the border, deporting illegals, bringing prices down, restoring American wage growth and manufacturing—all of these significant positives…and all of them still struggling against the sheer size and inertia of the U.S. economy.

I understand that. Trump and his advisors know that. Some of the people I know, know that.

Do Joe and Jane Six-Pack know that? Do Bubba and Betty Sue Bama know it? I doubt it—because nobody’s come out and told them, in ways they can understand, that fixing an economic mess decades in the making won’t be done in a few weeks.

What Joe, Jane, Bubba and Betty Sue know, in their bones and in their bank accounts, is that grocery prices are too damn high. Their rent is too damn high. Their power bill is too damn high—and going even higher, when all these data centers go in to make the President's Tech Bros happy.

Yes, gas is down, thank God, but Thanksgiving dinner really wasn’t. That’s what people notice—and there’s another holiday dinner coming up next week for them to notice all over again.

Working to lower drug prices is a good thing, but for those who were injured, or lost loved ones to “suddenly” because of the jabs? They didn’t want to see Pfizer’s CEO in the Oval Office—they want to see him perp-walked to the Nuremberg 2.0 trials, right behind Fauci. They haven’t seen that yet, and it’s looking like they never will.

The part in the speech about health care? Yeah…we’ve been waiting fifteen years for the Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare with something that, like, oh, I don’t know, actually WORKS. I stopped holding my breath for that a long time ago. I’ll believe it when I see it—and I don’t expect to see it.

And tariffs? Great idea, chaotic execution—and I’m told they’re really turning the screws on local Mom and Pop businesses more than Amazon and WalMart. Small, local shops had the screws turned by COVID, and the tariffs are having the same practical effect. A difference which makes no difference….

Again, tariffs take time. Tariffs aren’t so much about the money they take in immediately as the domestic industry they encourage. Secretary Bessent has been beating this drum fairly well with his “melting ice cube” story, but he ain’t The Boss.

The President did score points with his promise of a “Warrior Dividend” of $1776 for every member of the military. They certainly deserve it. But…a dusty old memory surfaced, about how the Emperor always made sure the Praetorians got paid, or else. Suspicious old me wonders just why, at this particular point in time, Trump wants the military to think favorably of him….

Trump did finish strong:

“We're putting America first, and we are making America great again. Very simple. We are making America great again tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down. 

“Our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back stronger than ever before. 

“We are poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen. Soon, we will host the World Cup and the Olympics, both of which I got, but most importantly, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 

“There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago, when the world looks at us next year, let them see a nation that is loyal to its citizens, faithful to its workers, confident to its identity, certain to its destiny and the envy of the entire globe, we are respected again, like we have never been respected before. 

“To each and every one of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you all.”

Good ending, except for that part about the World Cup and Olympics—I suppose I could care less about those, but I’d really have to work at it.

The reactions to the speech were completely predictable. The President's fans loved it, his foes hated it. We're a hideously divided country, and no single speech is going to change that.

Will it bolster the President's ratings, which have tanked? I doubt it. With only 38% of people approving of his performance on the economy and 58% disapproving, he needed a miracle speech.

What he gave wasn’t a miracle speech. It was a “yay, me!” stump speech with no new policies except the one-time military check, and a weak-ish appeal to hang on until his policies begin to work.

Keep this in mind as the midterms draw ever closer:

It’s the affordability, stupid.

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The President’s speech may be seen on YouTube and below: