Donald Trump says he’s “won affordability” amid slipping approval rating

The administration has held up measures such as GDP growth and record-high stock valuations as evidence that its economic agenda is already bearing fruit. But experts have, in recent months, issued several warnings about America’s economic trajectory, prompted by precarious labor market conditions, dot-com-era excesses in equity markets, and increasingly acute concerns over the nation’s fiscal health and mounting national debt.

Economists have in recent months issued several warnings about a deep, “K-shaped” divide developing within the economy—where those at the top see greater success as the lower rungs face mounting challenge, but new analysis from Bank of America shows that the disparity exists not only between the country’s poorest and most affluent members.

Researchers have found that in terms of income growth, the American middle class may also be slipping further behind the top earners, creating an additional “K” and changing the overall pattern into what Fortune described as an “E-shaped” economy.

Trump said later in his speech, “We inherited a mess with high prices and high inflation, and we’re turned it around and made it great. They don’t mention the word ‘affordability.’ I haven’t heard the word in two weeks. It’s all a con job. Airfares, hotels, car payments, rent, sports events, groceries — everything is down. Everything is down. Dairy. Eggs. Potatoes and Chicken.”

Trump’s trip to Georgia also suggested another political calculation. He was appearing in the congressional district formerly represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, a onetime ally who resigned in January. A special election to fill the seat is scheduled for March 10.

Early voting is already underway in the special election to replace Greene, with leading Republican candidates closely aligning themselves with Trump.

Trump traveled on Thursday with his preferred candidate, Clay Fuller, a district attorney who prosecutes cases across four counties and who described himself as “a MAGA warrior” before Trump took the stage.

Other candidates include former Republican state Senator Colton Moore, who rose to prominence with his outspoken criticism of Trump’s prosecution in Georgia. Moore, a favorite among far‑right activists, has said he remains in contact with Trump despite the president’s endorsement of Fuller, calling that decision “unfortunate.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval has been sliding steadily since the start of his second term, with recent surveys showing him deeply underwater across multiple polling firms at the same time.

It highlights mounting political risks for the president as the midterm elections approach.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek in an emailed statement Wednesday: “The ultimate poll was November 5th 2024, when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda.”

Taken together, four recent polls place Trump between 19 and 26 points underwater, a range that CNN polling analyst Harry Enten described as unprecedented for this point in a second term.

“The bottom line is this, Donald Trump is setting new records for himself in term number two, setting new records for himself compared to where he was at this point in term number one,” he said in an on-air segment. 

Trump Awaits Supreme Court Tariff Ruling

The president also lashed out at the Supreme Court on Thursday as it considers the legality of his novel use of emergency powers to impose sweeping global tariffs.

“I’ve been waiting forever, forever, and the language is clear that I have the right to do it as president,” Trump shouted. He added, “The tariff is the greatest thing that has happened to this country.”

New research linked to one of the nation’s largest banks showed Thursday that tariffs paid by midsize U.S. businesses have tripled over the past year. The added costs have forced companies employing a combined 48 million Americans — the types of firms Trump has pledged to revive — to absorb the burden by raising prices, cutting jobs or accepting lower profits.

Latest Jobs Report

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, signaling that layoffs remain at historically low levels.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending February 14 dropped by 23,000 to 206,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was well below the 225,000 new claims that analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected.

Weekly jobless claims are widely viewed as a proxy for layoffs and provide one of the timeliest snapshots of the labor market’s health.

Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that employers added a stronger‑than‑expected 130,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3 percent from 4.4 percent. However, subsequent government revisions sharply reduced payroll growth for 2024 and 2025, cutting last year’s job gains to 181,000 — roughly one‑third of the previously reported 584,000 and the weakest annual increase since the pandemic year of 2020.

Although weekly layoffs have largely remained in a historically low range of about 200,000 to 250,000 for the past several years, a number of high‑profile companies including UPS, Amazon, Dow and The Washington Post—have announced job cuts in recent weeks.

Those layoff announcements, combined with downward revisions to government employment data, have contributed to growing public unease about the economy, even as overall growth has remained solid.

Updates: 2/19/26, 6:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.

This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.