Trump's 'hokum' on key issue left Republicans holding the bag after SOTU: analyst

President Donald Trump's "hokum" on affordability left many Republicans disappointed after the State of the Union, according to one analyst.

During the speech, Trump barely touched on affordability, which is shaping up to be the most important issue in the 2026 midterm election. Catherine Rampell, economics editor at The Bulwark, argued in a new article on Wednesday that Trump's decision to gloss over the topic left Republicans feeling disappointed in their leader.

For instance, Rampell said Trump questioned whether affordability is an issue at all.

"This message does not seem to be resonating with voters, most of whom say Trump is making prices and inflation sound like they’re in better shape than they really are," she wrote. "And they’re right: Notwithstanding Trump’s claims, prices are not 'plummeting downward.' Prices are very much still rising—and rising faster than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. And there’s evidence that Trump’s tariff policies are contributing to that above-target inflation. For example, prices of appliances, furniture, and new cars, all products targeted by Trump tariffs, grew sharply from December to January."

"Not to worry. Trump promised that his tariff revenue would be used to defray other American expenses—specifically, that it would 'substantially replace' income taxes. This is a mathematical impossibility," she added.

"That’s a lot of hokum Trump managed to cram into a small sliver of his speech. But given the fare on offer, maybe Republicans in the audience should be grateful he didn’t provide more material. The portion size in this case was . . . just enough," she continued.

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