By Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, a potentially pivotal moment as the White House seeks to firm up support among Republican voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Trump’s speech comes against a backdrop of rising tensions with Iran and voter frustration with the high cost of living.
RISKY BUSINESS
Trump put dollars and cents at the heart of his speech, but he stuck to a risky message on the economy that some strategists have warned could lose his Republican Party the congressional elections in November, when all 435 seats in the House and about a third of the Senate are in play. Democrats hope to take control from Republicans who have a majority in both chambers.
In Trump’s telling, inflation, mortgage rates and gas prices are falling, while the stock market, oil production and foreign direct investment are booming along with construction and factory jobs. But he stopped short of acknowledging the pain that Americans still feel from rising prices, as he has in most of his recent speeches on the subject.
The data shows inflation stalled and even ticked up last year, and the economy lost factory jobs last year.
Voters tell pollsters they are anxious about the economy and are dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the issue. Fifty-six percent disapprove of his handling of the economy, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows, while 36% approve.
That’s a reality strategists say Trump needs to reckon with if he’s going to be Republicans’ chief messenger on the economy as they fight to keep control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery, editing by Ross Colvin and Deepa Babington)
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