Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Sunday urged his party to level with voters about the cost of living, arguing that Republicans cannot win the midterms by telling Americans to ignore their own financial struggles.
In an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Kennedy pushed back on forecasts that the GOP would cruise to victory in November. “As I’ve said before, Kristen, here’s my prediction about the elections. I will bet you a soda and a nice hat that the experts are wrong. I do think it will be close,” he told host Kristen Welker.
Kennedy, a blunt-spoken Louisiana Republican, identified inflation as the dominant issue on voters’ minds. “I think the biggest issue is cost of living,” he said. “I think we have to tell the American people the truth. Telling them not to believe their own lying checkbooks is not going to work.”
He traced the current price pressures to policies from both the Biden and Trump administrations. “This inflation did not originate in a vat. Started under President Biden. It’s reared its ugly head under President Trump because of the war in Iran,” Kennedy said, pointing to the conflict’s impact on global energy markets.
The Iran war has been a political liability for the GOP, particularly at the gasoline pump. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for oil shipments, has sent fuel prices soaring. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gas stood at about $4.37 on Sunday, compared with roughly $3.14 a year earlier.
Recent polling underscores the public’s sour mood over the economy. A Quinnipiac University survey found that 62 percent of respondents disapproved of President Trump’s handling of the economy. An Associated Press/NORC poll went further, with 65 percent saying Trump’s policies were the main driver of high prices. More than half of respondents in that same survey said the national economy and the country as a whole have worsened since Trump returned to the White House.
Kennedy’s remarks come as the GOP navigates a tricky electoral landscape, balancing its base’s expectations with the reality of voter frustration. The party’s struggles are compounded by internal divisions over issues like the Kennedy Center naming fight and proposals to restrict naming buildings for living politicians.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, however, dismissed the negative polling as partisan spin. “Ahead of an election cycle, the fact that there’s, you know, possibly partisan pollsters telling us that the people are really, really depressed, it’s a classic Democrat move, and I just don’t buy it,” Hassett told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Kennedy’s warning reflects a broader concern among some Republicans that the party’s message on the economy is out of step with what voters are experiencing. While the White House touts economic wins, the persistence of high prices at the checkout and the pump continues to weigh on public sentiment.
With the midterms fast approaching, Kennedy’s advice to his colleagues is simple: acknowledge the pain and offer a credible plan. “We have to tell the American people the truth,” he repeated, “and that starts with admitting what they already know about their own finances.”
