Former GOP Senator Deems Trump ‘Completely Out of Touch’ With Americans
During a Friday appearance on CNN, former Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) deemed President Donald Trump “completely out of touch” with how Americans feel about the economy, adding that prices “really aren’t” down everywhere, and “people know that.”
Speaking to CNN’s Erin Burnett, Flake referenced his recent op-ed in The Washington Post, in which he argued we’re starting to see a “great GOP migration” away from Trump, promising it will “only accelerate as we get closer to the midterms.”
“The president may not want to talk about the affordability crisis, but he’s going to have to,” said Flake, after Burnett pointed out that Trump only seems willing to admit to high beef prices. “The notion that prices are down everywhere. They really aren’t. And people know that.”
“The Republican Party and the president seem completely out of touch with where the economy is, particularly the effect of tariffs,” Flake continued. “Tariffs are inflationary. That is a Republican article of faith. And you’ll see a lot of Republicans starting to migrate back to the new, old ground, where we used to reside.”
Unlike previous presidents, Trump has used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose steep tariff hikes, driving duties up to 50% on major partners such as India and Brazil — and as high as 145% on Chinese imports earlier this year.
In a presser with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday at the White House, Trump continued to tout that Walmart’s 2025 Thanksgiving meal bundle costs about 25 % less than last year, presenting it as proof of affordability. Yet fact-checks show the comparison is misleading: the 2025 bundle includes significantly fewer items than the 2024 version.
Burnett went on to cite Trump’s Great Gatsby-themed party at Mar-a-Lago and extensive White House renovations as further proof that the president doesn’t understand the economic woes of everyday Americans, especially as the government shutdown drags on.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
