Trump served McDonald’s to connect with voters. Now, many feel they can’t afford it.

FEATHERVILLE, Pa. — David Teeling rummages through his wallet and pulls out a wrinkled newspaper clipping of Donald Trump working at a local McDonald's — this McDonald's is where he and a few friends regularly meet to talk politics and sports.

Teeling cites this photograph as verifiable evidence for those who don't believe him as he explains what happened: The former and future president showed up in a Philadelphia suburb near the end of the 2024 campaign and scooped up French fries for customers who drove up to the window.

“Some people believe me and some people don’t, so I stick to it,” Teeling, 70, says over coffee.

A year ago, Trump visited the site to emphasize that he knew ordinary people who felt left out of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris economy.

Today, it is Trump who risks being out of touch with reality. Ahead of next year's midterm elections, voters feel depressed by high prices and blame Trump for not doing enough to lower the cost of living, polls show.

new NBC News Decision Desk Poll shows that 53% of adults have changed their spending habits to stay within budget, and 55% have reduced spending on entertainment and extras to be able to afford the necessities of life.

A sample of food prices shows egg prices have fallen 29% since Trump was sworn in, although beef prices have risen nearly 13%, chicken prices have risen 2% and bread prices have risen 4%. Orange juice prices have risen 28% since the start of Trump's term, according to Nieslen IQ. NBC News Grocery Price Tracker.

Generally, AP-NORC Poll found that only 31% of adults approve of Trump's approach to the economy, the lowest rating he has received in his first or second term.

“We can improve these numbers,” John McLaughlin, a Trump pollster, said in an interview. “We did it in 2023 and 2024, and we can do it again. In an election year, Trump will be able to spend more time with voters outside the Beltway.”

“The White House has no choice but to campaign for President Trump in the midterm elections,” McLaughlin added. “Without Trump on the ballot, it's hard to get his voters to turn out. If you can't motivate Trump voters, we won't win the midterm elections.”

The White House seems to agree. This was stated by Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles. podcast interview that the idea is to put Trump “on the ballot” by forcing him to campaign as if it were 2024 all over again.

For Trump, the question is whether he can muster the discipline to deliver a two-part message consistently. Political strategists say he needs to show he understands people are struggling and prove he is committed to making their lives better. It's a difficult balance that requires some humility on Trump's part and an acknowledgment that the “golden age” he promised early in his term has yet to materialize.

Trump still blames protracted inflation for this. Biden a bogeyman he continues to criticize even as the economy bears his imprint every day. He says voters have a lot to be happy about, including gas prices, which fell from $3.03 per gallon a year ago to $2.92 now; the stock market, where the S&P 500 is up 16% this year; and new foreign investment in the US totaling trillions of dollars.

Regarding the accessibility issue, he calls it “hoax” committed by Democrats.

On his social media page last week, Trump wrote that “just 13 months ago affordability was a disaster for the American people, but things are different now! Prices are falling quickly.”

However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that Trump's tariffs are pushing inflation higher than it would otherwise be. After falling to this year's low of 2.3% in April, inflation rose to 3% in September for the first time since January. September was the last month for which data was available.

Even Trump members own party said the prices were too high for Republicans to ignore. “People aren't stupid. When they go to the grocery store, they know what it costs and what it doesn't,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told NBC News last week.

Michael DuHaime, former political director of the Republican National Committee, put it this way: “You can keep talking about Biden, or even Obama, or Jimmy Carter if you want. Voters will tolerate this until a certain point.”

Previous presidents have faced a similar conundrum, but with different results. No sitting president wants to admit that his economic policies have failed. But the president risks appearing callous by denying what is obvious to people who can't afford to buy ground beef at the supermarket.

“One of the mistakes we made as part of the Biden team was that we weren’t more empathetic,” Sam Corneil, the former CEO of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview. “We immediately tried to explain the numbers, but voters didn’t feel it.”

Trump's first campaign messages came last week when he went to a casino resort in the Poconos. to the rally dedicated to economics. He showed slides and touted his achievements, saying his tariffs are causing a wave of construction of AI, cars and other types of factories.

But true to form, he also veered off topic, trashing Biden, Powell, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, windmills and the African nation of Somalia.

“We're a little bit behind the top eight going into the 2026 election,” Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster, said in an interview. “The message for Republicans is that we need to focus on what voters care about most: the economy and the cost of living,” he said, adding that people don’t care “about what’s happening in Somalia or the Middle East or other places. For the most part, they are focused on their wallets. That’s what we need to focus on.”

Returning to McDonald's, there is no sign that Trump ever swapped his jacket for an apron during one of his most memorable campaign stops. After Trump's visit Yelp has disabled its reviews. restaurant because of caustic reviews.

Sometimes clients take photos of the drive-thru window where Trump appeared. Since then the staff has changed; none of the employees working on a recent weekday were there when Trump showed up.

As a company, McDonald's has faced pressure from what its CEO called “two-tier economy”. A sharp drop in traffic from low-income customers played a role in the company's decision to revive its “Extra Value Meal” combinations this fall, according to CEO Chris Kempczinski.

Teeling said he was willing to be patient until Trump's economic policies take effect.

“It’s gone up,” he said of the cost of living. “There's no doubt about it. But Trump is the CEO. He can change things. It will take a year, maybe two.”

Janice Hall, 72, a former Philadelphia city worker who ate a cheeseburger and fries, agreed.

“It will slowly decline,” she said. “We haven't given it time yet. It hasn't even been a year.”

She said she would vote for Trump again if she could.

“I think he's funny, he's hysterical. He has personality,” she said.

William Sanguiniti, a 72-year-old retired engineer, said over a hamburger and a Coke: “There's always going to be someone complaining about something. I'm not. I try to live within my means.”

A dissenting remark came from one of the regulars. Sipping coffee, the 76-year-old retired truck driver said he doubted Trump would be able to cut prices. He said he had to change his spending habits to make ends meet.

“I used to eat a lot of beef; I can’t afford it,” he said on condition of anonymity. “Even when I see reduced prices in different supermarkets, they are still too expensive.”

He mentioned the unemployment rate. which amounted to 4.4% in September this is the highest figure in the last four years.

“Many of the people who voted for him didn't vote for layoffs,” he said.