Trump’s modest rise in approval is anchored in something voters can feel every day: a little less financial strain. Cheaper gas, crowded malls, record online orders and solid GDP growth cut through years of inflation fatigue. Trump is racing to stamp his name on that relief, scrapping Biden-era emissions rules, leaning on drugmakers and vowing tax breaks on tips, overtime and even Social Security income. At the same time, he mocks “affordability” as a Democratic mirage born of their own policies.

Democrats feel the ground shifting and are trying to trap him in his own words. Schumer and Jeffries now frame every speech around rent, groceries and energy, looping footage of Trump once promising to “make America affordable again” beside his new attacks. With AI threatening jobs, wages still lagging and both parties spinning the story, voters are left wondering if this calm is a real turning point—or just the eye of a larger storm.