A woman who voted for Donald Trump savaged the president for his “tone-deaf” affordability tour stop, slamming his planned national public-appearance blitz as an insult to the American people.
USA Today columnist Nicole Russell took aim at Trump in a scathing op-ed published after president appeared in the key swing state of Pennsylvania for the first stop of what has been described as an affordability tour. The president is attempting to reassure voters that his economic agenda is delivering results, even as many Americans struggle with high prices.
Additional tour stops are expected later this month and into the new year nationwide, according to Axios.
“I voted for President Donald Trump, and I don’t regret it,” Russell wrote in the op-ed, published Friday morning. “But some days, I get tired of his banter and smears. They’re prosaic and stupid and they usually don’t solve any problems or showcase progress, even if there has been.”
The Texas mom of four described the tour as “as tone-deaf as it sounds” and urged Trump to “stop mocking affordability.”
“It’s not a partisan word—and most Americans are tired of the high costs of living that have lingered since the pandemic,” Russell wrote. “There is no need for a public relations spectacle— if Trump is confident in his policies, and I think he should be, or he should be willing to make changes where necessary.”
Russell also called on Trump to remain in D.C. and said his administration should “communicate confidently and directly to the American people about the economy.”
The criticism comes as Trump faces mounting scrutiny over his handling of the economy during his second term in office. Reducing grocery prices was one of Trump’s central promises during the 2024 campaign.
Trump was suffering from record low approval ratings at 31 percent as he kick-started his affordability tour this week.
The 79-year-old appeared to acknowledge those unfavorable numbers on Thursday in a post on Truth Social.
“When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?” Trump wrote. “When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
