Late-Night Hosts Take Aim at Trump's Economic Claims: ‘You Can’t Convince People the Economy Is Good While They're Facing Reality’

Late-night television hosts took aim at the president's recent attempts to defend a booming American financial landscape amid growing anxiety over inflation and workforce reductions.

Meyers Focuses on the ‘A+++++’ Economy

During his latest episode, Seth Meyers dedicated his opening monologue to the ongoing situation of the nation's finances. “Prices of daily goods, from food to utilities, continue to climb while companies announce layoffs,” he explained. “This is precisely when a leader needs to show compassion and validate the plight of everyday citizens—and oh no, while speaking, I remembered our current president and realized that there’s no way he’s going to do that.”

In contrast, the leader, in a this week's discussion, bestowed upon the economy a grade of “A+++++.”

“I understand that comes across as insensitive, but to be fair, it’s plausible Trump was malfunctioning,” Meyers quipped. He added that this optimistic view is “very much at odds with how pretty much everyone else feels about it.”

Citing a fresh survey, Meyers highlighted that a significant majority of Americans fault the president for economic conditions. “Therefore, it's less of an A+++++ and more of an failing grade,” he remarked.

“Trump is facing the exact dilemma Biden had: it's impossible to persuade people the economy is great when they can see the reality with their own eyes each time they pay for food or settle their utility costs,” Meyers concluded. “Trump thinks he’s doing a great job but the public think he’s,” in the words of a reporter, “failing.”

Jimmy Kimmel Recaps a Lengthy Pennsylvania Rally

On another network, the late-night host focused on a lengthy public appearance that was supposed to be the economy but strayed far from the stated subject.

“He hasn’t been out for some time,” Kimmel noted. “Had he continued for a little longer, it would’ve legally been classified an Avatar movie, that’s how extended it was.”

In the nearly three-hour address, the president delivered “his familiar routines: windmills, Sleepy Joe, bing bing, predictable rhetoric. He instructed followers who are finding it difficult to pay bills that their kids could cut back on so many toys or school supplies.”

“This approach, evidently, is to just repeatedly claim things are terrific,” Kimmel remarked. “This is the exact misstep his predecessor made, by the way. You cannot simply declare people the economy is good when they’re facing higher costs for all goods and services. We are aware how much things cost. People are observing the price of apples with our own eyes. And you’re telling us to ignore it. He is asking us to be a bunch of deniers.”

Stephen Colbert on a ‘Windchill’ Economy

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert marked the festive period when “people are out shopping.”

“Sadly, right now the most expensive thing you can do with stuff is purchase them, because inflation is high and Americans are dissatisfied about it,” he added.

The host referenced a survey finding that a vast percentage of Americans view the economy poorly, though some commentary suggesting that “in reality things look worse than they actually are,” calling this phenomenon a “economy of perception.”

“This analogy because – I think we can all agree – recent times has been tough,” he joked.

More data revealed challenging news for the White House, including a low popularity score and the fact that a sizable portion of the leader's supporters reported the worst cost of living in their lifetime. “This is particularly painful when it’s the people who support him,” said Colbert. “They are expected to love him unconditionally.”

In an attempt to “make people believe that the bad economy is really strong,” the figure offered tips on how to cut costs.

According to the president, “you can give up certain products, you can give up writing utensils.”

“What cost does he think pencils cost?” Colbert wondered. After checking prices, a package costs a modest sum. “So cutting costs on pencils may not be the most absurd suggestion he’s said, but I’m going to say it’s No 2.”