White House insider warns Trump is 'wildly out of touch'

Many say President Donald Trump is being unrealistic about the state of the economy. One former advisor to President Joe Biden believes Trump is wildly out of touch. Citing her own experience working with an administration seemingly on the brink of financial collapse, says that Trump’s promises to decrease costs as inflation on everyday items like groceries and gas keep millions in a cycle of living paycheck to paycheck are impractical.

Celinda Lake, a veteran Democratic pollster, says economists and voters are speaking the same language in terms of how the economy currently looks. "When economists say inflation comes down, they mean the rate of increase has come down," she told BBC. "When voters say inflation has come down, they mean the price has returned to what it was. Well, of course, it never returns to what it was."

Throughout 2024, the Biden administration pointed to low unemployment, steady economic growth and cooling inflation as evidence of a strengthening economy. But those macroeconomic gains often failed to resonate with voters whose daily lives were still shaped by the high cost of groceries, housing and other essentials. For many Americans, the promise of economic progress rang hollow when the price of simply getting by remained painfully high.

Lake, who advised Biden’s 2020 campaign, understands firsthand how voters feel. She argues that people judge the economy not by economic indicators, but by how its effects shape their everyday lives. And in her opinion, Trump isn’t doing a good job at swaying those who are skeptical. "You can't argue with people about their own lived reality," she said in her interview with BBC. For that reason, she says Trump and Biden are up against the same challenge.

In terms of who is to blame, it depends on who you ask. But according to some economists, including Trump supporters, Trump is largely at fault due to the economic fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran. "The inflation is clearly traceable to Donald Trump," says Peter Morici, a University of Maryland economist who aligns with Republicans. "It's his tariffs and the war. People know that. They see it."

Trump says he has the answer. The White House says data on tax cuts, job growth and lower prescription drug costs is proof that the administration is on track to ease Americans’ financial burdens. Trump has proposed a cap on credit card interest rates, as his desire to distribute $5,000 payment to American adults if Republicans retain control of Congress. Whether that is enough for things to turn out in his favor has yet to be revealed.