Anderson Cooper Sounds Alarm on Trump’s Real Priorities
The CNN anchor fact-checked the president’s claim that prices are “tumbling down.”
CNN Host Anderson Cooper sounded the alarm on President Donald Trump’s real priorities as the president faces mounting problems.
On Wednesday’s Anderson Cooper 360°, Anderson tore into the president for focusing on his vanity projects and Truth Social AI clips instead of climbing inflation and high cost-of-living issues.
With inflation rising, gas is averaging $4.33 a gallon, according to AAA. The president also took a brutal blow on Wednesday after the release of the Consumer Price Index, with Bureau of Labor Statistics data that showed that consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier and that inflation rose faster than expected last month.

Anderson Cooper is concerned about Trump's priorities.
CNN
However, at a rally in Arizona on Wednesday, as Cooper showed on CNN, Trump, 80, had a different story.
ADVERTISEMENT
“All your prices have been tumbling down. Prices are coming down very fast. Oil is coming down. Inflation is down,” Trump said.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Cooper offered a more realistic picture.
“The words of a man who says he wants voters to pretend that he is on the ballot, telling them things they see with their eyes are not true,” Cooper, 59, said.
“Inflation not down. It’s up. Prices not coming down. They’re going up. Oil not coming down.” Crude, he noted, was sitting at $106 a barrel. “None of what you heard him say there was true,” he added.
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport after attending a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, US, October 14, 2026.
Evan Vucci/REUTERS
Anderson then played a clip of Trump from the Arizona rally that the host said, “continued painting a picture for voters that most now neither see or feel.”
“We’re in the golden age,” Trump said. “And despite all of the obstruction from radical left lunatics, our nation is doing better now than it has ever done before.”
Cooper then cited a CNN poll in which just 33 percent said the president was doing a good job, before taking aim at his other projects.
“Voters, according to polling at least, do not seem to see it that way,” Cooper said.
US President Donald Trump reacts during a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, US, October 14, 2026.
Evan Vucci/REUTERS
“Red-state voters,” he added, kept telling CNN reporters including John King “that the president is not doing enough to address their problems.”
“As for what he is doing, well, let him tell you again,” Cooper said, airing video of Trump speaking of his one of his vanity projects.
“Has anyone seen the new heliport that I built, the White House?” Trump asked. “... They were going to sue me on that. But then they saw it. They said, it’s so beautiful. We won’t sue him.” Trump referenced the more-than-$5 million helipad he unveiled at the White House last month.
“That was probably not in the teleprompter,” Cooper said, looking troubled. He also noted Trump’s ad-libs about his $600 million ballroom and his planned triumphal arch.
U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, shows his son Donald Trump Jr. the construction on the new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 11, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on Cooper’s segment.
Trump frequently talks about his numerous White House renovations.
In August, Trump gave reporters a tour of the granite helipad going up on the South Lawn, and boasted that the adjoining ballroom had “a military component with the drones and the bomb shelters.”
Days earlier, after an appeals court ordered construction halted on the $600 million ballroom, Trump branded the preservation group suing to stop it “TREASONISTS” in a 579-word Truth Social rant.
Responding to the inflation numbers earlier Wednesday, White House spokesperson Matthew Middleton told the Daily Beast, “The President has always been clear about temporary disruptions as a result of the Iran conflict, but this administration will continue to deliver economic wins for the American people over the next two years.”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT