Puck Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker offered sour predictions for the nation’s slumping economy if President Donald Trump fails to overcome his pride.
When asked to gauge the Trump administration’s mood on rising inflation concerns, Baker said the White House did not appear to have a coherent message, mainly because different elements inside the White House are seeing two different versions of the U.S. economy.
“Part of the problem is they don't even have an affordability message, right? On the one hand, you hear the president say 'the economy is great, we're doing awesome.' And then you hear the vice president yesterday say, ‘yeah, we know the economy isn't doing great, but we're making progress. Give us time. You need to be patient.’ These are two very different messages,” Baker told “Morning Joe” hosts.
Nobel economist Paul Krugman reported on Wednesday that the American public is losing faith in Trump’s economic policy, which is walking hand in hand with a similar “implosion” in the White House as the president resorts to calling female reporters “piggy.” Krugman reported on Thursday that inflation is hitting so hard even Republican voters are acknowledging the pain , according to a Fox News poll.
“Public perceptions of the economy appear to be plumbing new depths,” Krugman said.
Baker said Vance’s plea for voters to “be patient” while the economy recovers was the same argument that failed the Biden administration, even if it acknowledged the real pain. But Trump, he said, will not allow that kind of talk.
“It may be more honest to say, ‘yes, we know things aren't great and we have ideas for how to make them better,’ but the president doesn't want to go there because it would acknowledge the policies he's put in place so far haven't been successful, as he promised they would be,” Baker said. “And with the threat of additional tariffs coming on line, the concern is, of course, the economy isn't going to get better. It could go the other direction.”
“Morning Joe” Host Joe Scarborough accused the administration of “not having a second Act,” after Trump entered the White House with a flurry of executive orders.
“It's just a shame that their next act is not figuring out how to talk to Democrats, figuring out how to deal with the affordability crisis. You know, there's a bipartisan health care bill out there somewhere where you go after insurance companies that are gouging customers. That is just so easy. It would be a political win for everybody. But instead, you’ve got all this chaos going on,” Scarborough said.