Karoline Leavitt Scolds GOP for Not Cheering Trump Loudly Enough

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt opened her morning TV tour by scolding her own party, warning Republicans that they are not praising President Trump nearly loudly enough.

“As President Trump has been screaming from the rooftops, Republicans need to remain tough, and smart, and they need to be more vocal about telling the accomplishment of this administration,” she said on Fox & Friends. The line landed as both a push to party loyalists and a signal to the campaign teams that the White House wants a single tidy story.

She doubled down on the numbers that the White House hopes will sell that story. “Again, inflation has slowed because of President Trump’s economic policies,” she said. “We see wages for the first time in five years are increasing by about $1,000 per the average American worker.” Those claims are the backbone of the message the administration wants repeated.

But the plain data give a more mixed picture. The Consumer Price Index rose year on year in recent reports leaving many families still feeling strain at the grocery counter and at the pump. That means while inflation has eased from its hottest months, prices are not back to where people want them to be.

source: tradingeconomics.com

At the same time growth has slowed. Major economic outlooks show gross domestic product expanding at a weaker pace than last year and forecast further slowing as trade moves and policy choices take effect. Slower growth makes it harder for any team to claim a clear victory on the economy.

The job market also offers mixed signals. Payroll growth has softened and the unemployment rate sits higher than the boom months that followed the pandemic. Those shifts make the wage story harder to sell to voters who feel pay is not keeping up with the cost of living.

Trade battles have added another layer. The administration unveiled a $12 billion support plan for farmers after trade disruptions cut into export demand and farm income. The aid underlines how policy choices can create both winners and losers in the short term.

Reporters and fact checkers picked apart some of the claims. Leavitt said China had not been buying US soybeans under the prior administration and is now buying them under this one. Multiple outlets noted that trade flows are complex and that the statement does not match the record. That matters because simple claims can backfire if they fail a quick check.

Public mood is part of why the White House is pushing so hard. Polls show many voters rank affordability as a top issue and say they feel worse off than before. That worry is reflected in several national trackers where Democrats hold leads that make Republican strategists nervous.

Inside the party reactions are split. Some aides say Leavitt is doing the job of setting a clear line for surrogates to repeat. Others worry the push for louder praise will sound like spin while families wrestle with rising bills. The split shows how hard it is to turn sound bites into voter confidence.

Featured image via X screengrab