"From the day I take the oath of office, we'll rapidly drive prices down and make America affordable again." That was Donald Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last year. But this year he is denouncing rising costs as a "Democrat hoax" and "Joe Biden's inflation crisis" and declaring, "affordability is the greatest con job."

Trump has always been a showman, focused on the next episode of his reality series. That mindset works well when he's the challenger, the outsider, conducting a campaign that goes from rally to podcast, from TikTok to Truth Social, employing his superb performance skills to win the day.

But today he is the president, the nation's leader. He is responsible for the state of the economy, and blaming others for rising prices and strained budgets doesn't

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