Trump Is Running Out of Time to Remake the Economy Before the Midterms

When pressed on affordability, President Donald Trump pointed to his economic agenda: reshoring manufacturing, building AI data centers and a return to energy dominance.

His stated goal is to reorient the way the U.S. makes money, so it can be competitive in the future. But it may be months, if not years, before Americans feel the full impact of these efforts.

“Everyone would love immediate gratification, but that’s just not how it works,” said one senior White House official. “It’s going to take some time.”

The long-term approach is clashing with an electoral imperative: Americans are frustrated with high prices, and in less than a year, they’ll have a chance to register that dissatisfaction at the ballot box.

The White House is hoping that while the larger plan takes time to bake, some executive orders meant to make life more affordable will bridge the gap and assuage economic concerns.

In recent weeks, Trump has signed executive orders aimed at addressing price issues, including one on price fixing in the food supply chain and another rolling back tariffs on some agricultural products. The administration has been negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

But so far, the economy is still struggling and many voters are dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the issue.

The unemployment rate is the highest it has been in four years, and inflation is still higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In poll after poll, voters indicate that their number one concern is the economy and that they don’t think Trump is doing enough about it.

“The long term in political sense is really the midterm elections next fall,” said Wilbur Ross, a former commerce secretary who still is in close contact with the White House. “The real question is, will the sentiment turn around by then?”

The White House is banking on yes. Popular provisions, like no tax on tips, in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act go into effect next year. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in a series published this week that the law will be “a very big deal” in the midterms.

Trump and White House officials are promising Americans the biggest tax return in history next year as a result of the new law.

In a primetime address Wednesday, Trump floated aggressive housing reform to be announced in the new year as one of his plans to improve the economy.

“Everything else is falling rapidly, and it’s not done yet, but boy, are we making progress,” Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office.

The next chair of the Federal Reserve, who Trump will handpick next year, is almost certain to continue to cut interest rates, which could help with prices but also risks spiking inflation.

Stephen Moore, an economist who talks to Trump, said he has been encouraging the White House to eliminate the capital gains tax on homes next year, a change that would make them more affordable. The president has previously floated doing this.

“There’s some interest in it,” Moore said. “I mean, I can’t speak for everyone, but the economists I’ve talked to over there seem to think it’s a good idea.”

Doug Holtz-Eakin, an economist and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, agreed.

“They should probably do that, period,” he said. “One way to think about the strategy is do now something you’d like to do anyway, and accelerate those actions. There’s not a lot that they can do. And I think they know that.”

Trump allies who NOTUS spoke with admitted some confusion about why Americans feel poorly about the economy despite some stronger statistics, like falling gas prices in certain states and what they perceive to be a stable job market.

Some said it was all about perception. Others said maybe the president wasn’t delivering the message succinctly enough.

The senior White House official said there is a “whole list” of plans still under development for the president to tout his agenda, in addition to another “affordability tour” stop in North Carolina on Friday.

Asked if there were any concerns at the beginning of the term about whether the American voter would appreciate the president’s agenda because it could take so long to come into fruition, the official simply said: “The president truly believes in his agenda” and that the same goes for his entire economic team.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Trump expressed skepticism that the things he has done, such as tariffs and investment commitments, are landing with voters.

“I’ve created the greatest economy in history,” Trump said. “But it may take people a while to figure all these things out. All this money that’s pouring into our country is building things right now — car plants, AI, lots of stuff. I cannot tell you how that’s going to equate to the voter. All I can do is do my job.”

The White House is touting $9.6 trillion in foreign and private investments (Trump himself places the number at $18 trillion). Both figures are an exaggeration, according to a CNN analysis.

Much of that money has been pledged and won’t be felt by American communities immediately.

“Trump is partly falling right into the trap that Biden fell into,” said Barret Marson, a GOP consultant from Arizona. “Arizona is a pretty big recipient of CHIPS money for TSMC and Intel and whatnot — I don’t notice that. Even though it’s a massive benefit for the state of Arizona, Arizonans really aren’t noticing it, unless you’re directly or maybe maybe indirectly employed in the chip manufacturing industry.”

Sen. John Husted, an Ohio Republican, said Thursday deregulation was the answer to the White House’s affordability problem, though the White House has been on a regulatory reform spree for months.

He told NOTUS in a Friday interview that he expects voters to feel better about the economy as they see more measures of the reconciliation law go into effect.

“It takes time for these things to have an impact, but we’re making great progress,” Husted said.

There have been some positive economic indicators: Holtz-Eakin pointed to productivity gains. November’s CPI report indicated that prices are rising more slowly, down to 2.7% from 3%.

Aides felt vindicated, the senior White House official said, and the communications team worked to spread the news, placing stories throughout the media about the much-needed statistic to let the American public know.

“I think that the best strategy is just keep doing the right thing on the economy, keep cutting taxes, cutting regulation, reducing waste in government, producing more energy,.” Moore said. “All those things eventually will turn the tide.”