President Donald Trump launched the year-long countdown to America's 250th anniversary, with a stop at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, on July 3, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"The economy is good. It's all good. Prices are coming way down, and we have a lot of very positive news," Trump touted as he departed for Iowa.
And ahead of the trip, a White House official told Fox News Digital, "Inflation has cooled, economic growth is accelerating, and real wages are up for American workers."
Deep concerns over inflation boosted Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories at the ballot box in 2024, as they won back the White House and Senate and keep their House majority.
But Democrats say their decisive victories in November's 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.
The president's approval on the economy has consistently hovered in negative territory since last March, and has dragged down his overall approval ratings during his first year back in the White House.
Among the most recent national polls — a Wall Street Journal survey conducted earlier this month put Trump's approval rating on the economy at 44%-54%, and he stood at 35%-56% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in the field this past weekend.
TRUMP VOWS HE'LL BE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ‘A LOT’ THIS YEAR
"Donald Trump has tanked the economy for working families, making the cost-of-living an inescapable hell for millions of Americans. Everyday Americans are drowning under the weight of rising costs, flat wages, high unemployment, and record layoffs — it’s no wonder they’re concerned about making ends meet," Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer argued in a statement.
But the Wall Street Journal poll indicated that congressional Republicans had an 11-point advantage over their Democratic rivals when it came to which party was better equipped to handle the economy.
Iowa is friendly ground for Trump, who convincingly won the state in his two presidential victories and one re-election defeat.
President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks on the U.S. economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2025. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Trump made stops last month and earlier this month in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan to highlight his accomplishments on the economy.
And the weekly trips advertised by the White House are a big change from Trump's first term, when the president didn't start his campaign travel blitz until Labor Day.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this month that "the President of the United States is our secret weapon... He's laser focused."
"We got to make sure we turn our voters out, and we got to make sure that we have people energized. And there's nobody that can energize our base more than President Trump," Gruters added.
And the White House official said that the president "has always been most in his element when he’s interacting with everyday Americans, and the President’s domestic travel will allow him to most effectively underscore how this Administration has and continues to deliver economic prosperity for the American people."
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Democrats are just fine with Trump hitting the road.
"Trump has historically low approval ratings because he has put America last, sold out working families to hand out favors to billionaires, and made life unaffordable. Hitting the road will only remind Americans of his failures and force GOP candidates to tie themselves to his cratering presidency," DNC chair Ken Martin argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-hits-road-sell-economic-wins-republicans-brace-high-stakes-midterm-showdown