Americans “think prices are rising, rising, rising” in “each and every single part of their lives” and “they just don’t feel like they can catch a break,” CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said on Monday.
And that, he explained, is why voters think Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is “full of it” for dismissing the price hikes driven by Donald Trump’s controversial tariff policy. Even a majority of Republicans agree, he noted, saying it’s a sign of just “how you know that the pain is being felt by the American public right now.”
“The Treasury secretary can try and tell the people something, but they can feel in their pocketbooks,” Enten said. “They, simply put, don’t buy what he and this administration is selling when it comes to tariffs.”
Enten added that Americans also no longer accept Trump’s claim that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, is responsible for the affordability crisis. “No. No. No. No,” he said. “It’s like they’re trying to sell ice up at the North Pole when it comes to this.”
A majority of 62% polled Americans blame Trump for the current stagnating economy, compared to 32% for Biden, he said, pointing out that “we are nearly a year into the Donald Trump administration.”
“They say at this point, it is Donald Trump’s economy and what is happening in terms of inflation is his responsibility,” he added.
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