‘Talking Point’ for Dems; Networks Boast ‘Trump’s Policies’ Are ‘Squeezing’ Americans

On Thursday, the steady torrent of negativity surrounding Republicans continued on the flagship morning shows of ABC, CBS, and NBC, emphasizing Wednesday’s inflation report of prices increasing 3.7 percent as a sign that it spells doom for President Trump and the GOP, “squeezing American families” because of “Trump’s policies” and “handing” Democrats “a campaign talking point.”

ABC’s Good Morning America was ready and eager to trumpet the doom. Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos stated immediately in the teases, “[s]oaring inflation squeezing American families.”

The tease continued:

Inflation rising. Americans feeling the strain as soaring prices squeeze families. How President Trump’s policies, from the war with Iran to tariffs, are driving up prices, as the President tries to help Republicans hold Congress, with less than three weeks until the final midterm votes.

GMA had two stories on the midterms. Stephanopoulos opened that as well, doubling down on “the impact of rising prices on American families” serving as “the fallout from President Trump’s policies on the war with Iran to tariff[.]”

Correspondent Elizabeth Schulze recited every liberal talking point for an entirely negative story, painting the economy as in a state of near-depression because of Trump (click “expand”):  

SCHULZE: Inflation is now costing American families on average an extra $250 every month, compared to this same time last year. Compared to three years ago, it’s more than $600, and this is in large part because of the spike in gas. But other day-to-day costs are rising, too. This morning, American families feeling the strain of soaring prices, the inflation rate hitting 3.7 percent, its highest level in four months, and up from 2.8 percent right after President Trump took office. The spike in oil from the Iran war, pushing gas prices up 34 percent in the past year. Airfare and shipping costs surging, too.

BELDEN: You know, I wake up at three o’clock in the morning worrying about how – how you’re going to pay this or how it’s going to pencil out.

SCHULZE: In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We meet third generation cattle rancher Scott Belden.

BELDEN: Every machine out here runs on diesel.

SCHULZE: He says he’s paying $1,400 extra for diesel every week as prices have doubled.

BELDEN: Middle of America is hurting. The lifeblood of America is diesel fuel. Everything you eat, consume. Where is delivered with a diesel-powered vehicle.

(….)

SCHULZE: But beyond oil, economists say tariffs are fueling other price hikes, from toys to clothes and shoes, and essential services like medical care and child care that account for most consumer spending, are getting more expensive, too…For six straight months now, Americans' wages, on average, have not been going up as fast as prices.

A few minutes later came the formal midterms story. Yet again, Stephanopoulos stacked the deck: “We’ll get the latest on the midterms. With 19 days until the final votes. President Trump facing the fallout from the wars and rising prices as he tries to shore up Republican candidates.”

Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce reveled in the state of play: “Trump is out on the trail trying to blunt these economic headwinds, as inflation rises and Republican candidates are playing defense in GOP strongholds.”

Bragging the GOP’s gubernatorial chances in Arizona are “an uphill battle,” and two races in Montana are “close,” she touted Texas Democrat senatorial candidate James Talarico as a contrast to Trump in that the former is fully “zero[ed] in on the number one issue for voters: the rising cost of living.”

As we’ll see with CBS and NBC, Bruce also fawned over the “remarkable moment” when a Maryland audience “laugh[ed]” when Republican Congressman Andy Harris tried to blame high diesel prices on Democrats.” Of course, Harris was starting to refer to regulation, but he was promptly shut down.

Amateur pundit Michael Strahan chimed in after Bruce: “Everything, every day brings something new, Mary.”

CBS Mornings teases included co-host Gayle King mockingly stating, “Ahead, the President tries to convince voters that higher oil prices are a good thing for America. We’ll see.”

In another, she said, “With new data showing inflation on the rise, President Trump downplays the impact of higher prices on the cost of living.”

After featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers said the new inflation report “challenge[d] President Trump’s campaign message on the economy,” chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes relayed Trump “was unwilling to accept the new inflation figures issued by his own administration” and seemed skeptical that “Trump argued the economy is better than new inflation figures suggest.”

Cordes also cheered Talarico as one of the Democrats “handed…a campaign talking point” by the inflation report. She painted Trump as off-kilter and his supporters as unhinged for wondering why Talarico had gone AWOL for nearly two weeks (click “expand”):

CORDES: This was the final monthly inflation report before Election Day and it handed Democrats like U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas a campaign talking point.

TALARICO [on CNN town hall, 10/14/26]: We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis.

CORDES: In a televised town hall, Talarico talked about his bout of the flu and the contagious rumors that came next.

TALARICO [on CNN town hall, 10/14/26]: That decision to stay home for a week sent my opponent and his conspiracy theorists spiraling. I opened up social media, and learned that I apparently had dropped out of the race, had flown to a mental hospital in Ohio, that I had died. This is crazy.

CORDES: In a bid to beat back a blue wave, Trump is campaigning in a new state almost every day, making his own waves as he goes.

TRUMP: In my opinion, leakers should be shot.

CORDES: In Arizona yesterday he had this proposal for those who leak secrets to the press:

TRUMP: In the old days, we used to shoot leakers. [SCREEN WIPE] To me, they’re – they’re the scum of the Earth.

CORDES: In Montana, he joked that he may have killed too many Iranian leaders.

TRUMP: I should have probably left the leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with.

A financial analysis segment with Money Watch’s Jill Schlesinger featured Duthiers delivering this ray of reality that, even though “prices still feel too darn high,” inflation remains “down from the peak in 2022 where it was nine percent.”

NBC’s Today had a similar setup with two reports to open the show. White House correspondent Monica Alba went first, scoffing at Trump and the GOP’s chances (click “expand”):

ALBA: And, as the President has crisscrossed the country over the last two weeks, he’s repeated the same message on the issues voters say they care most about, affordability, arguing his policies are working and costs are coming down, despite the administration’s own data pointing to a very different economic reality. This morning, President Trump back at the White house after continuing his campaign blitz in a midterm election season increasingly shaped by the economy. While the President tried to bolster support for GOP candidates in tight races in Montana and Arizona –

TRUMP: I’m only here for one reason, to get really great people into office.

ALBA: – the backdrop: rising costs, with inflation jumping to 3.7 percent in September, according to new data released yesterday, driven by gas and diesel prices squeezing consumers as the war against Iran stretches on. While the President says he inherited a bad economy and arguing this in Montana –

TRUMP: Your prices have come way down.

ALBA: – according to government statistics, the cost of housing, clothing and restaurant food have increased compared to a year ago. The President saying focus on prices comes from the media.

TRUMP: They’re always talking about affordability.

ALBA: Polls show affordability is an issue for voters and Republican candidates are facing headwinds throughout the country. In Maryland, a contentious town hall this week with Republican candidate Andy Harris going viral.

She also rejected any hypothetical rebuttal: “But the GOP and the President [are] continuing to blame the previous administrations for driving prices up and saying that they will come down when the Iran war is over.”

Like with CBS’s financial analysis block, chief business correspondent Christine Romans seemed to have dropped a Freudian slip after noting grocery prices are stabilizing, and key staples like eggs and milk are falling: “[I]t’s fascinating. Usually, we don’t talk about inflation rates when they’re normal and stable; it’s not news, but it has been news for months and months and months now.”

To see the relevant transcripts, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).