President Donald Trump has spent years testing the limits of what politicians can say in public.
During his first presidential campaign, he was popular he said that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone” without losing followers. It was an exaggeration. But it captured something real about Trump’s political appeal — his willingness to say things in public that most politicians wouldn’t dare.
Now, in his second term, Trump is once again testing the limits of what a president can say — by dismissing Americans’ concerns about rising prices for food, energy, transportation and other goods. He has repeatedly stressed that concerns about inflation and household finances are secondary to broader goals, such as ending conflicts abroad.
last month, it was “I don’t think about the financial situation of Americans.” Then, last week, he told reporters that “I like inflation” after the Bureau of Labor Statistics given figure which showed prices had risen the fastest in three years.
Comments have criticized by followers and opponents as well, surprised some Republicans, and delighted many Democrats looking forward to the fast-approaching 2026 midterm elections. They have also raised a broader question about Trump’s second term: Without the constraints of another campaign, is the president governing with his voters and his party in mind, or with his historical legacy at the fore? And what happens politically when the president seems willing to openly downplay concerns about inflation and affordability?
Shelby Talcott, who covers the White House for Semafor, has spent months talking to administration officials and Trump allies about the president’s economic message and priorities for his second term. He joined recently Today, It’s Explained co-host Noel King discusses what Trump’s comments reveal about his leadership style, his political calculations, and how those around him respond.
The following is part of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s a lot more in the full podcast, so take a listen Today, It’s Explained wherever you find podcasts, incl Apple Podcasts, Pandoraand Spotify.
President Trump has been talking about the economy recently. Some of what he said has received a lot of attention. What are the most interesting things?
He often, pretty bluntly say that he effectively does not care about it. He has made comments that show that this is all temporarythat he regardless of inflation. And so that comment – he, again, has said more than once, “I have not considered the economic situation of Americans when I negotiate with Iran. I don’t care about this inflation number” – has come up for people in the last few months.
My favorite was “love inflation.” He had opportunity to take it back. He didn’t do that. He doubled over. What do we do about it – that he tells us, it’s not a mistake?
I think it signifies a few things. First of all, when I talk to administration officials and people who have known the president for years, one of the things that keeps coming back is that this is all being said in the broader context of the Iran War.
That’s something that the president really cares about, and he really believes that he needs to continue this, right? He has spoken a lot in the last few years about Iran is not capable of obtaining a nuclear weapon. And so he comes to this economic argument from the point of view of, I have to defend the decisions that I have made internationally.
But a big part is also about Donald Trump’s legacy. That’s something he’s really focused on. He is very little worry about midterms. Regarding grocery prices – actually, I asked someone who is close to the White House several months ago, “Why isn’t he paying more attention to these things?”
And the answer I got was that, when the president enters the history books, it will not be eggs in a dollar carton. It will be for strengthen Venezuelafor go to Iran and get their nukes (material). And so when he talks about “I’m not thinking about the economic situation of the voters when I’m discussing this war with Iran,” it’s because he’s always thinking about what he’s doing wisely. He should defend the Iran war. That is part of his legacy. He has to defend the situation in Venezuela. That is part of his legacy. And so all of these responses are tied to how he thinks about his history and how he will be remembered.
It’s only about time he says this is so popular because, obviously, there are a lot of Americans who are struggling right now.
I understand what you are saying why he is explaining them. But there is a part of you that thinks the president must know that now is not the time. However, let’s give him a little grace. Is there something about time that we might be missing?
I don’t know that it bothers him because he’s not running again, does it? This is his last term in office. And I think that’s also the main theme of what we see, why he makes certain decisions, it’s because he’s freed this time. It will definitely affect the party. And you hear from Members of Parliament involved.
You are right hearing from White House officials who are trying to take back what he said or say, well, he didn’t really mean it in this context. He meant it in the context of x, y, z. And that’s why there are administration officials who when they hear the president say that, they just sit there and sigh a lot because it doesn’t make their jobs easier.
Who are these people? Who runs the economic mission in the White House?
If we’re being honest, the answer is the president.
There are advisors around him who tell him what to do. you know, James Blair is one of the closest confidants of the president. He has recently moved into a more central position, but is still very involved in the White House and is there often. (Chief of Staff) Susie Wiles has urged the president over the past several months to focus more on the midterms. You hear from people close to Trump who recognize that the midterms, even though they don’t directly affect Trump — he’s not on the ballot — will affect him.
If the Republicans lose, it will be harder for the president to get anything passed. It’s already hard, and the Republicans are in the majority. It will also affect him because they believe that the Democrats, if they take back the majority, will try to push things forward against Trump, right? They are there worry about being suedetc. And so you hear from people close to Trump who really care about this topic and want him to pay more attention to his message.
But in the end, as with everything else, this is the Trump show.
What are the Democrats thinking? Every time President Trump says something like, “I love inflation,” what do we see on the other side of the aisle?
I mean, they are giddy. They’re kicking their feet, right? This is something that even Republican leaders I’ve talked to, when the president made his comments about liking inflation, they said, even if that’s not what he meant, that will be deducted. You’ll see that in ads all over America.
Democrats love these words because it’s a way for them – like Trump was able to do during the 2024 election, which focused on the economy – to say, this guy who’s in office right now doesn’t care. He is there. He didn’t help.
That’s what Trump did to defeat Biden and Kamala Harris. They are doing the same thing now with the midterms based on the president’s opinion. Now the question is, will they be organized enough to make the message effective?
Ten, 15 years ago, if you had the president of the United States saying, “I love the inflation,” or I don’t care about the economic situation of the Americans, you feel like that would be the end of that president’s term in power. There would be people on the streets. The world has changed, America has changed. But I wonder if you think there might be a broader lesson here.
Do you think President Trump is changing the way presidents talk about the economy, or are voters changing the way they respond to messages about the economy and say, “No matter what the president says, we feel what we feel”?
I think it’s a bit of both. I definitely think, not only with the Trump administration, to be completely honest, but in the last several years, there has been a shift with the electorate to kind of throw away the presidential argument for the state of the economy. We saw it during the Biden administration. We are seeing it now during the Trump administration.
But I think part of that is because of how these presidents, like Trump, like Biden, are sending messages. Their message is good, “Things are good. We know that you say things are not good, but they are temporary. Don’t worry about it. And actually, look at all this other data here that shows that you are not doing as bad as you feel.”
Voters look at that and say, “I’m going to the grocery store. I’m struggling to pay for my groceries. That’s not the real message.” They throw away the presidential argument. But I think with Trump in particular, he’s changed politics in a way that he can say things and get away with it, in a way that other presidents in the past haven’t. And I think future presidents won’t be able to either. I think it’s unique to him.
