Economist Steve Moore said Monday that President Donald Trump can calm voter anxiety over high prices by borrowing a simple message from former President Ronald Reagan.
Trump on Saturday dismissed warnings about an affordability crisis, blaming former President Joe Biden for higher prices. During an appearance on “Kudlow,” Moore said Trump should follow Reagan’s early-1980s playbook, adding that Reagan faced stagflation and voter anxiety before tax cuts took hold and eased economic pressures.
“So I’m glad, Larry, that Donald Trump is going out there and making the case. And what he has to say is exactly what you and Arthur [Laffer] are saying, but also, you know, I go back to the early 80s when Ronald Reagan’s first year in office wasn’t so good as he was waiting for those tax cuts to kick in,” Moore told host Larry Kudlow. “Do you remember what he said, Larry and Arthur? He said, ‘Stay the course. This is working. It’s going to improve your lives.’ And then, Arthur, [there] was a seven-year boom that we’ve never seen before. I think that’s exactly what Trump has to say now.”
Moore said voters react to what they feel at the grocery store or the gas pump, regardless of technical explanations.
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“I’ve used this statistic before on your show. I’ll use it again. 88% of the increase in prices that we’ve seen since COVID came into effect happened under Biden,” Moore said.
Moore said voter anger over inflation and high prices has less to do with current policy than with lingering frustration from the Biden years.
“So if you’re angry about what’s happening with the inflation rate and the cost of things like beef and eggs and housing, you should blame Biden for that. But it’s also true that perception is reality, as we learned in the November elections,” Moore said. (RELATED: ‘The Country Has Turned Away From That’: Brit Hume Shares Real Message Behind Mamdani’s Constant ‘Affordability’ Push)
Trump brushed aside the affordability issue as a partisan line from Democrats, even as GOP leaders debated how to respond after the issue helped Democrats notch key victories in November 2025. Following those wins, White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair discussed the issue with Politico.
“The president is very keyed into what’s going on, and he recognizes, like anybody, that it takes time to do an economic turnaround, but all the fundamentals are there, and I think you’ll see him be very, very focused on prices and cost of living,” Blair told the outlet.
Radio host Hugh Hewitt said the strategy could pay off if the party centers its case on daily prices and energy, adding that increased domestic production has begun pulling fuel costs lower across the country.
“I think if the message remains ‘Affordability decides elections,’ Republicans are going to like next November because most prices depend upon energy. And the energy production policies that you saw Secretary [Chris] Wright refer to there and Secretary Burgum over at Interior are bringing the cost of oil and gas down,” Hewitt told Fox News host Bret Baier.
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