Meeting over the weekend in Arizona, Democratic governors said they would continue to push policies meant to address the issue of affordability. The Democrats renewed focus on the key issue comes while President Donald Trump has falsely described affordability as a phony issue made up by his political opponents.
The Democratic Governors Association held their meeting after a successful campaign cycle in 2025, where their candidates in states like Virginia and New Jersey won while making affordability central to their campaigns.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chair of the DGA, told those in attendance, “We have to be laser focused on people’s everyday concerns and how hard life is right now for the American people. He added that the gubernatorial races in Georgia, Iowa, and Nevada would be the top three races the organization would focus on flipping during the 2026 election cycle.
The Democratic focus on the issue stands in stark contrast from Trump, who has been dismissive of the issue.
“There’s this fake narrative that the Democrats talk about—affordability. They just say the word, it doesn’t mean anything to anybody,” Trump said last week. He also claimed affordability is a “con job” and a “Democrat[ic] scam.”
President Donald Trump, shown in October.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has a similar point of view to Trump. Asked by a reporter last week if Republicans are doing enough to address the issue, Johnson said the public should simply “relax” and that “it’s gonna be fine.”
The public disagrees with Trump and Johnson.
A recent poll from Politico/Public First found that Americans generally say the current problems with affordability are Trump’s responsibility. Even 37% of voters who backed Trump blame him for the economy’s current crisis.
After campaigning last year on lowering prices, Republicans have failed to do anything to address the issue. Conservative ideology runs directly opposed to the notion of using the government to fix or ease these problems, presenting a huge obstacle to Republican action.
In fact, the key piece of Republican legislation passed since Trump took office—the “Big Beautiful Bill”—has caused more problems. Cutting funding for vital programs like Medicaid and curtailing Affordable Care Act subsidies increases costs instead of cutting them.
Trump’s tariff policies also hurt the U.S. economy by raising prices for middle- and working-class families, leading to reduced spending and job cuts.
In Tennessee, Republicans saw more evidence that ignoring the affordability problem is a political loser. While the party held on to their seat in the special election for the state’s 7th District last Tuesday, the Republican candidate trailed Trump’s performance in 2024 by 13 percentage points.
Trump can continue to argue that affordability is a myth, but voter anger is very real and aimed directly at the GOP.
