Trump compares real wages under his admin versus Biden's during speech calling out Dem affordability 'hoax'

President Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania Tuesday night touting his administration's economic success, after Democrats swept a series of elections in 2025 while mainly campaigning on platforms focused on "affordability."

"They caused the high prices, and we're bringing them down," Trump told the crowd in attendance at a casino resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, whom he spoke to for nearly two hours. "Lower prices, bigger paychecks – you're getting lower prices, bigger paychecks, we're getting inflation – we're crushing it – and you're getting much higher wages. The only thing that is really going up big – it's called the stock market and your 401ks."

Affordability has become a flashpoint heading into the midterms, with Republicans now fine-tuning their messaging on the economy after a slew of Democrats won elections in 2025 running on a platform focused on lowering costs. Prior to Tuesday night's address in Pennsylvania, Trump told Politico in an interview that he would give his economy an "A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus" grade, but a November Fox News national survey found that some 76% of voters reported they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, and up from the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Joe Biden's term.