Overview
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Sean Hannity on Monday night that “our country is safer” and “more affordable” under President Trump, a statement that quickly drew media and social‑media criticism.
- Government data reported this week show 12‑month inflation at about 3.5 percent while average nominal wage gains ran roughly 3.2 percent, meaning real wages fell and living costs rose for many workers.
- News coverage and analysts linked rising energy and gasoline prices to the administration’s confrontation with Iran, noting higher fuel costs have been a key driver of recent price pressure.
- Public reaction has been sharply negative, with The Economist poll tracker showing Trump deeply underwater on affordability and commentators calling Leavitt’s remarks out of step with voters’ everyday experience.
- Leavitt also repeated attacks on Democratic nominees and cited a Maine allegation about Troy Jackson that fact‑checkers trace to a deleted social post and a Daily Wire piece and that PolitiFact found did not show Jackson hit a colleague.