Donald Trump in recent weeks has hosted a lavish Great Gatsby themed party at his Mar-a-Lago resort — complete with dancers spinning in giant cocktail glasses — touted his newly gilded toilet on social media and sped up entry for billionaires into the US.
Now the man who rode to the White House last year on a promise to fix America’s cost-of-living crisis is struggling to convince voters that he even thinks it is a real issue after dismissing it as a Democratic “hoax”.
It is a messaging problem for the populist Republican, whose approval ratings have ebbed as prices for basic needs such as groceries and rent have continued to rise since his return to office.
It also marks a stark reversal for the president. Voters’ frustration with out-of-touch elites was among Trump’s greatest assets on the campaign trail. Now even allies say it is a liability.
US president Donald Trump talks with guests during a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
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