President Trump is trying to shift focus to important issues amid outrage over two fatal shootings by federal officers.
Published January 28, 2026
US President Donald Trump touted his economic achievements in a superlative speech that sought to shift the public’s focus to livelihood issues amid outrage over two fatal shootings by US border and immigration agents.
In a pitch to midterm voters in Republican stronghold Iowa on Tuesday, President Trump touted the strength of the economy and hailed his first year in office as the “best” start to a presidential administration in U.S. history.
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“Today, just one year after President Trump took office, our economy is booming, incomes are rising, investment is soaring, and inflation has been defeated. Our borders are closed, completely closed, and America is respected around the world,” Trump said in his speech.
President Trump spoke amid growing backlash over immigration crackdowns in neighboring Minnesota, warning that “very bad things will happen” if Democrats win in November’s midterm elections.
“If we lose the midterm elections, we’re going to lose a lot of the things we’re talking about, a lot of our assets, a lot of our tax cuts,” Trump said.
He cited the strong performance of the U.S. stock market, which is at record highs, as evidence of the success of tax cuts and tariffs. He also touted a $70 million investment by North Carolina farm equipment maker Deere & Company.
“I’ve made a lot of people rich that I don’t even like…I’ve doubled their net worth,” the president said.
Trump also rejected criticism that his administration had failed to adequately address cost-of-living issues and accused Democrats of inflating the issue for political reasons.
“They invented the word. ‘Affordable.’ Every time you hear that word, remember they are the ones who created the problem,” Trump said, falsely claiming his administration had lowered food prices and inherited the highest inflation in history.
Trump’s speech and pitch to voters came amid widespread signs of disillusionment with his handling of the economy, one of his biggest issues in the 2024 campaign.
A New York Times/Siena poll released last week found that only 32% of Americans say the economy is better than it was a year ago.
The U.S. economy has outperformed many analysts’ expectations over the past year, but economists say the key numbers are obscuring signs of weakness hidden in the economic data.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 4.3% in the final quarter of 2025, the strongest growth rate in two years and far outpacing other developed countries.
But Moody’s Analytics estimates that much of the economic benefit goes to wealthy Americans, with the top 10% of earners accounting for about half of all spending.
