President Donald Trump took his affordability crusade straight to the heart of American cuisine Monday evening, addressing McDonald’s franchise owners and suppliers with the reassuring news that the nation’s stubborn 3% inflation rate has finally landed “almost at the sweet spot.”
Speaking at the chain’s Impact Summit in downtown Washington, the president insisted the economy was humming along nicely, provided everyone ignored the polls showing his inflation approval languishing at a modest 35.6%.
The event marked the opening salvo in what aides describe as a multi-stop tour to convince voters that rising prices are merely a state of mind.
Trump reminded the crowd of his famous 2024 campaign shift at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, where he briefly mastered the art of the perfect fry.
He praised the company for reintroducing value meals, declaring McDonald’s the true champion of keeping dinner under ten dollars.
“Affordability should be our word, not theirs,” he declared, subtly rebranding a term Democrats rode to recent electoral gains.
Attendees nodded politely as the president explained that the ideal inflation rate was 1%, but 3% felt close enough after the 9.1% peak under his predecessor.
“We’ve normalized it,” Trump said confidently.
He acknowledged a few stubborn items like coffee remained “a little bit high” but promised swift action.
The room filled with the quiet optimism that comes from knowing someone, somewhere, is working on it.
Recent data shows beef prices up around 15% this year and electricity bills climbing more than 6%.
Lower-income households, economists note, are feeling particularly near-recession despite the headline improvements.
Trump brushed aside such concerns, much like one might flick away an errant sesame seed.
He highlighted his administration’s progress since inheriting what he repeatedly called “Biden’s inflation crisis,” even as his own tariffs have contributed to certain shelf-price surprises.
When pressed in recent interviews about voter anxiety over costs, the president suggested polls were unreliable.
On Monday, he offered a fresher take: a little inflation builds character.
The strategy bore familiar echoes of past administrations.
Both Trump and Biden have occasionally denied price pain existed, blamed predecessors, or deployed creative data selection.
Trump has claimed prices are falling, despite evidence to the contrary.
Biden once called inflation “transitory,” a word that aged about as well as leftover nuggets.
Observers noted the parallel tactics with the dry amusement reserved for reruns.
The president’s approval on inflation sits in the basement at 35.6%, according to RealClearPolitics averages.
Voters remain unimpressed, having just handed Democrats wins by hammering the affordability message.
Trump aims to flip the script, starting with the people who know value menus best.
He floated ideas like 50-year mortgages and tariff rebates, assuring the crowd that relief was supersized and on the way.
Franchise owners left energized, though many quietly recalculated portion sizes.
As midterms loom, the battle over who truly owns “affordability” intensifies.
Trump insists it’s his now, like a trademarked slogan stamped on every wrapper.
Americans, meanwhile, continue checking couches for quarters.
The sweet spot, it seems, depends entirely on whose wallet is doing the tasting.
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