1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

Trump traveled to Pennsylvania this week to talk about the economy — yet somehow ended up telling Americans that “prices are a hoax,” that people “don’t need to buy so much stuff,” and then launched into a string of creepy, inappropriate comments about women. This is not leadership; it’s public unraveling. Meanwhile, his poll numbers continue to sink as his reckless tariffs push prices even higher and his corporate allies squeeze consumers for every dollar they can. Republicans are panicking, hoping he can do damage control — and instead he delivered the same incoherent rambling, racist asides, blatant lies, and disturbing remarks that have come to define his presidency. With the holidays around the corner, it’s hard to imagine voters embracing the message that inflation is “fake” and families simply “don’t need so many things.” Yet Trump actually argued that Americans should buy fewer basic items — pencils, dolls, everyday goods — as if that excuses the economic chaos he manufactured. He even slurred through: “They say this election is all about affordability… Our prices are coming down. Their prices — it’s a hoax.” This from a man who has been president for a full year and done nothing to meaningfully address affordability or economic strain. His answer to his own failed trade war with China? Americans should just “give up certain products.” And then came the grotesque comments about women — praising his press secretary’s “beautiful lips,” referring to them as “a machine gun,” and implying Senator McCormick’s wife would leave him if he lost. Why is this man incapable of speaking about women without objectifying them? This behavior is not normal. It’s not presidential. It’s not even coherent. What is wrong with this man — and why are you still defending this chaos instead of defending the American people?