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Trump almost learned a lesson. Then narcissism reared its ugly head.

8 5
10.11.2025

President Donald Trump, after watching his Republican Party take a thorough thrashing from Democrats on Election Day, briefly appeared to be on the edge of learning a lesson.

Being Trump, he cast a common concept – affordability – as some unique insight he discovered that drove the success for Democratic candidates in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and other states.

But forget all that affordability talk now.

Trump’s thin-skinned narcissism swiftly squashed his short-lived revelation that American voters who reelected him in 2024, largely because of their concerns about the economy, are still deeply anxious about their cost of living right now.

That's Trump's first problem here. And it is exacerbated by his second problem – he refuses to admit there is a problem.

Trump, after pretending to discover the word "affordability," then rejected the concept in a pair of dizzying and dishonest exchanges with journalists at the White House on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7.

"I don't want to hear about the affordability," Trump said during a meeting at the White House on Nov. 6.

If you didn't catch that, then don't worry. You'll see the video over and over and over again in campaign ads from Democratic candidates seeking to........

© USA TODAY