Trump seeks to tout economy after tough elections for GOP

President Trump on Wednesday touted his economic agenda one day after Democrats won key victories in elections where voters said they were largely basing their decisions on the cost of living.

Trump traveled to Miami to deliver remarks at the America Business Forum, where he pointed to lower gas prices, dropping interest rates and investments from other countries as evidence that he was overseeing a booming economy, even though exit polls from Tuesday showed voters were sour on the subject.

The speech fell on the first anniversary of Trump's 2024 election victory.

“One year ago, we were a dead country. Now we’re a country that’s considered the hottest country anywhere in the world," Trump said.

An Associated Press exit poll found 49 percent of Virginia voters said the economy was their top issue, while 56 percent of New York City voters said cost of living was the city's top issue. The poll also found roughly 60 percent of voters in Virginia and New Jersey said they were "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the direction of the country.

Despite those frustrations, Trump on Tuesday painted a largely rosy picture of the first nine months of his second term.

"I'm pleased to report that today, the United States has the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest military, the strongest friendships, and the strongest spirit of any nation anywhere," Trump said. "We have the greatest economy right now. A lot of people don't see that."

He cited increased wages for factory and construction workers, a drop in the price of eggs, and a reduction in the size of the federal workforce in favor of private sector investments. The president also highlighted his signing of the major tax and spending bill in July, which extended the tax cuts enacted in his first term and provided billions in funding for border security, among other provisions.

Trump spoke after Democrats on Tuesday comfortably won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as other races in California, Georgia and Pennsylvania. While Trump did not directly mention those results, he sought to seize on the New York City mayoral race, where Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and the Democratic nominee, won more than 50 percent of the vote.

"Our opponents are offering an economic nightmare, we’re delivering an economic miracle," Trump said. "We have delivered, in nine months, this is an economic — the biggest investment of funds in a country in history by many times."

Trump earlier Wednesday said he did not think the election results were good for Republicans. He attributed the tough night to the government shutdown, which he acknowledged had been negative for the GOP, and to his absence on the ballot.

Trump and other White House allies have downplayed the results by noting Virginia and New Jersey are blue states at the national level, though Virginia elected a Republican governor in 2021.