The Daily - Is This Economy as Awful as Voters Think? We Ask Our Expert.

As the midterms approach, our chief economics correspondent breaks down the data.

Duration: 34m
Broadcast on: 21 Oct 2026
Audio Format: other

The economy is one of the most important issues for voters in the midterm elections. President Trump has been trying to persuade Americans that they are wrong to be frustrated about the cost of living.

Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times, explains what the latest economic data actually says.

Guest: Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

Three charts that explain the economy as voters head to the polls.
Higher energy prices lift U.S. inflation ahead of the midterms.

Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press

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From the New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitroweth. This is the Daily. The election issue people are most concerned about is the economy, and President Trump knows it. "We have the single greatest moment in the history of our country in terms of the economy." As the midterms approach, Trump has been trying to persuade voters that they're wrong to be so frustrated about the cost of living. "With the hottest country anywhere in the world, instead of criticizing him, they should be grateful." "We've brought our pricing way down. Oil is right now much cheaper than ever." "We have almost no inflation, by the way, and we've taken in trillions and trillions of dollars." "We're richer now. We're making more money there than we ever have. We have more jobs than ever before, remember that." Today, my colleague, Chief Economics Correspondent Ben Castleman, explains what the latest economic data actually says, and why so few voters are buying Trump's story. It's Wednesday, October 21st. Ben, I brought you pastries. "Incredible." "This is the deal. I bring you pastries. You explain the state of a company." "Nothing sounds better on Mike than people eating pastries." "And nothing sounds better on Mike than you explaining the economy." "Yes." "While eating pastries." "Yeah." "Let's do it. Ben, it is wonderful to have you back." "Thanks for having me." "Okay. So, we know, of course, that people always weigh the economy very heavily when they go to the polls. This year is no exception. We just got this new batch of economic reports that I understand our last big temperature check before the midterms. So we want you to help us decode this moment. What is the state of the economy heading into the midterms? So, as you alluded to, we just got this big batch of data, this kind of our last snapshot of the state of the economy, and we got this sort of whole list of reports. We got retail sales data. We got claims for unemployment insurance. We got industrial production, and we got a boatload of data about inflation. Okay. So, we're data rich right now. We are data rich. But the story that it tells is nuanced, but the sort of basic takeaway is that there are a lot of real sources of strength in the economy right now.

Transcription truncated.

As the midterms approach, our chief economics correspondent breaks down the data.