The president is on the road trying to convince voters the economy is A+++++, so we are talking to NBC senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake for the Here’s the Scoop podcast. Republican women, most recently Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, are becoming increasingly vocal about their party’s issues with women and their leaders. I also spoke to Mike Hixenbaugh about a yearlong and disturbing investigation into child abuse in the Assemblies of God church.
It feels like we are moving at a breakneck speed to make it to Christmas. Heading to the subway this morning, I was listening to a podcast that reminded me that telling yourself that good things will happen — and believing it — can lead to good things happening. So try it.
Today’s newsletter was produced with Senior Editor Michelle Garcia. Let’s get into it.
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FIRST THINGS FIRST
It’s unclear how much extra credit you need to get this sort of grade, but Donald Trump says his economy gets an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.” Do Americans agree? For 63% of registered voters, the answer is no, which is a reason why the president is hitting the ground in Pennsylvania, rallying supporters on the cost of living.
Yesterday, Politico’s Dasha Burns asked Trump about a supporter who said he hasn’t done enough to lower costs, specifically “groceries, utility, insurance, and the basic cost of running” a small business.
Trump said prices have come down substantially during his 11 months in office, citing energy, gas and rollbacks on some tariffs. He is also touting other negotiations he’s overseen, including the tariffs, which he said will bring in trillions, and allowing some American-made AI chips to be sold in China. It may be years, however, before the fruits of these negotiations turn into jobs in the U.S. and a more affordable cost of living.
It’s worked before: The prospect of building a strong economy that would benefit working people has been a huge part of Trump’s campaign, going back to his first White House win. The message speaks directly to people struggling with job insecurity, inflation, high housing costs, rising health care and necessary child care. He won in 2024 largely because enough people believed he was better equipped than Kamala Harris to drive the economy.
Fast-forward a year, though, and Trump is talking about affordability as a false narrative pushed by Democrats. But nearly two-thirds of respondents to an NBC News survey in October said they believed Trump was failing to bring down costs and supercharge the economy as promised; a more recent Gallup poll echoes this.
Why it matters: Congressional Republicans are worried that Trump is not doing enough to clearly and decisively address people’s concerns with affordability. In 2024, Democrats “failed to really hammer the economy and it cost them the election,” Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Texas Republican, told my colleagues. “If we as Republicans fail to do the same, it wouldn’t surprise me if we had a similar turnout.”
When it comes to kitchen table economics, though, high earners will keep earning more — there may even be some trillionaires on the horizon. Lower earners have stayed stagnant for years. Their paychecks aren’t rising, while prices are.
A survey of 1,065 professionals from January showed financial stress is reaching astronomical levels for American workers, as 73% say their salaries don’t cover their living costs. In October, a Goldman Sachs analysis said 40% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck with no discernible savings. Tons of cash is being funneled into artificial intelligence, which is making some people richer while also creating anxiety for workers, especially younger ones. Yet the president, 11 months into his term, calls the issue of affordability a reflection of “Biden’s economy.”
INSIDE SCOOP
Women of the GOP, including some of the highest-profile members of the party, say they are growing increasingly tired of their leaders marginalizing them.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia sent shock waves when she announced she would resign to Congress over her frustrations with party leaders and the president. South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace penned an essay in The New York Times yesterday about women in the party being cast aside by male leaders for decades. For more on this growing call from within the House, I turned to Capitol Hill correspondent Mel Zanona.
BTW…
🎒 Dozens of men who participated in a Pentecostal scouting organization called the Royal Rangers as children told NBC News that they were abused by some of their adult leaders. Reporters Mike Hixenbaugh and Elizabeth Chuck revealed that the program, with the mission of raising boys into godly men, drew at least 29 Royal Rangers leaders who were accused of sexually abusing boys in their care over the past half century, according to a review of lawsuits, police reports and news clips. Their reporting is part of an ongoing series, and I urge you to read it.
🧑⚖️ The Supreme Court heard about campaign finance laws limiting how much national parties can spend in coordination with candidates. Vice President JD Vance brought the case, back when he was a senate candidate, though his potential presidential ambitions may play a role in the court’s decision.
🗳️ Miami hasn’t had a Democratic mayor in three decades, but that may change tonight with a mayoral election that both national parties are watching.
☄️ New images from the Hubble telescope capture an interstellar comet traveling at 137,000 miles per hour from another star system to make a close(ish) approach toward Earth.
🪸 A team of scientists replaying the “music,” or soundscape, of a healthy coral reef into the ocean is helping enrich and restore eroding reef environments.
🎨 Police arrested a suspect accused of stealing eight artworks from Henri Matisse’s “Jazz” series from a library in São Paulo, Brazil.
📲 Australia’s ban on the biggest social media platforms for children under 16 goes into effect today — will more countries follow suit and tell kids to touch grass?
☎️ AT&T may begin phasing out landlines, but you won’t get me to give up my 1991 see-through phone.
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.
