A new survey has found that Americans are being squeezed by higher prices as they head into the holiday season, forcing them to cut back on gifts and delay purchases because of Donald Trump’s faltering economy.
The Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that a vast majority of U.S. adults have noticed increased prices for groceries, electricity, and holiday gifts in recent months. Roughly half say it is harder to afford presents, and similar numbers say they’re postponing big purchases or trimming nonessential spending more than usual.
Those bleak findings come as Trump has been downplaying concerns about the state of the economy, while simultaneously urging families to scale back on Christmas presents for their children. At a Pennsylvania event on Tuesday, he told supporters, “You can give up certain products,” citing “pencils” as an example before turning to children’s toys: “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter.
Trying not to think about the fact that Christmas is somehow 10 days away, my bare minimum student loan payment is 5 days away, but I don’t get paid again for another 15 days. Then rent is due the day after that, and it’s most of my paycheck, which pretty much immediately puts me back to where I am now, and groceries are somehow more and more expensive every time, and I get to ring in 2026 knowing best case scenario for the new year is that this neverending cycle continues once I get paid again at the end of January and repeat the same thing until 2027.
But I also know how privileged we are just to have a few small things under the tree for my kid, not to mention having a roof over our heads, and not having to worry about Nazis trying to kidnap my family members and split us apart every time we risk stepping outside, or being murdered in drone strikes that suddenly rain down from above from out of nowhere for absolutely no fucking reason.
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus! Are we great again?