Trump and Republicans pivot to affordability messaging before 2026 midterms

President Trump and Republican congressional leaders publicly shifted toward affordability messaging on January 26, 2026, launching a strategy their advisers said would show voters a domestic policy focus ahead of the midterms. The effort followed internal acknowledgment that inflation persistence had undermined Trump's economic promises, with aides recognizing affordability as the front on which the 2026 elections would be decided. However, Trump undercut the message at a Pennsylvania rally by calling affordability a hoax and dismissing it as a Democratic scam.