When Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to “make America affordable again,” many voters believed him. One of them, Pennsylvania credit specialist Jenique Jones, says she’s now “waiting” for the president to keep that promise — and feeling let down while she waits.
“I voted for him three times,” Jones told CNN’s John King in an interview from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a town that has swung with the nation’s political winds for nearly two decades. “But absolutely not — he hasn’t fixed it. I’m definitely waiting for him to fix it.”
Jones says the reality she sees every day working with struggling clients is far from the “golden age” Trump claims he’s ushered in.
As a credit specialist, Jones works with families trying to manage growing debt amid rising prices. She says what she’s seeing now is worse than anything she witnessed under previous administrations.
“People are using credit cards for groceries, daycare, even gas,” she said. “They’re paying bills with one card, then paying that off with another. Pretty much just a whole bunch of financial mess.”
Bethlehem, once home to the legendary Bethlehem Steel, has long been a barometer for middle-class America — a place where the cost of living defines political loyalty. Trump narrowly carried Northampton County in 2024, taking 50.2% to Kamala Harris’s 48.5%.
Now, that support seems to be eroding as inflation continues to pinch.
Speaking at the McDonald’s Impact Summit in Washington this week, Trump painted a far rosier picture.
“We are doing better than we’ve ever done as a country,” he declared, touting his One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes tax breaks for tips and overtime pay. “Prices are coming down and all of that stuff. You are so damn lucky that I won that election.”
But the data — and the lived experiences of voters like Jones — tell a different story.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices rose 3 percent in September compared to last year, while food costs jumped 3.1 percent. Unemployment also ticked up to 4.4 percent, the highest rate since 2021.
Economists say the slight dip in energy prices hasn’t been enough to offset continued increases in housing, childcare, and medical expenses.
“Trump’s rhetoric may sound triumphant,” said Dr. Lila McManus, an economist at Temple University, “but for the average American, this economy still feels like quicksand.”
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 26 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while his overall approval has fallen to 38 percent — the lowest since he returned to power in January.
“I think people believed him when he said he’d bring prices down,” Jones said. “Now it’s just like, okay — when?”
She adds that she hasn’t given up hope, but her patience is wearing thin. “He’s the president now. He said he could fix it. We’re all still waiting.”
Across swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Trump’s blue-collar base is starting to show fatigue. From grocery aisles to gas pumps, many feel the “golden age” has yet to arrive — and may never come.
As Jones put it bluntly: “He’s great at talking. But talk doesn’t pay the bills.”
Source: CNN, Reuters, Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Daily Beast
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Talking to CNN was the first mistake. Give him a year or more to bring the prices down. I don\’t think that it\’s President Trump or the farmers and ranchers who are keeping the prices up. I think it\’s the middle people, the food processors and sellers, who grew accustomed to the higher prices and won\’t let go. Buying imported food is ridiculous, given that we used to be the breadbasket of the world.
You were warned…over and over again!
Full of shit fuck him!!!