Republicans tell Trump there’s no way to convince people their financial woes are fake

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) it trying to get a message through to President Donald Trump and his GOP colleagues: American's aren't going to buy spin that the economy is doing well when their daily lives show something different.

Kennedy told The Hill on Monday: “What you’re basically arguing to people is: don’t believe your own lying checkbooks. It’s their checkbooks. They’re looking at it. They don’t like what they see, so you’ve got to deal with it.”

“I really think that that’s what we ought to be focused on right now,” he went on. “I just want to do something. Doing nothing is very hard.”

“We’re not gonna win the midterm by going to the American people and saying, Look, we passed 11 out of 12 appropriations bills and we confirmed all of President Trump’s nominees,” Kennedy continued, adding that “moms and dads” lie awake at night worrying “about the cost of living.”

“In their minds, they’re tired of selling blood plasma to go grocery shopping,” he added.

Fox News has struggled to find ways to support Trump on the matter, too. Hosts are either trying to excuse away GOP policies or support Trump's message that everything is fine.

Trump has spent the past several months addressing the "affordability crisis" by saying that it doesn't exist. He calls it a Democratic hoax. He believes that since the stock market is doing so well, people are also doing well.

Unfortunately, inflation continues to be high, as does home heating, housing and food. Wages remain stagnant, not keeping up with inflation rates.

There's also a record amount of credit card debt, while interest rates are incredibly high, with some nearing 30 percent. Meanwhile, home loan interest rates remain between 6 and 7 percent.

Polls consistently show that Americans believe Trump has let them down on the economy. It was his top issue during the 2024 election.

Voter polls have increasingly reflected these and other figures. A December survey by The Harris Poll found that 45 percent of Americans believe their financial security is getting worse, that 57 percent believe the country has been hit with a recession and that more than half of even Republican voters think it’s Trump’s fault.

Kennedy isn't alone. Republicans recognize that Trump and the GOP have been slow to recognize that they've failed to deliver on campaign promises. Failing to deliver means MAGA must come up with some kind of message to convince Americans to continue to support their candidates.

Behind the scenes, Republicans are quietly fretting.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville told The Hill: “Are we doing enough? We’re not doing anything.”