President Donald Trump faced an uncomfortable confrontation on Fox News on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, when anchor Bret Baier read him a plea from a longtime supporter frustrated with rising prices, only for the president to flatly deny that costs had increased.
The exchange occurred during an interview on “Special Report,” following the decisive GOP election losses on Tuesday. Baier read a message from Regina Foley, a North Carolina retiree and lifelong Republican who voted for Trump three times previously but expressed frustration with the current economic climate. Foley urged that something had to be done quickly, stating she didn’t see the best economy right now and that Wall Street numbers did not reflect her Main Street concerns. She pleaded with the president to do something.
When Baier asked what he would say to Foley and people like her, Trump rejected the premise that prices remain high. He replied that beef needs to come down, calling groceries an old-fashioned but beautiful word, and claimed prices are way down before launching into a lengthy discussion about energy prices.
Trump argued that energy prices have decreased significantly, which he believes will bring down costs across the board. He said Foley probably drives a car and her energy prices are way down, adding that energy is so all-encompassing that when it comes down, everything follows it. Trump, speaking after delivering an economic speech in Miami, Florida, acknowledged that Republicans who lost Tuesday’s elections could have addressed the issue of affordability more effectively.
The president’s claims contradict recent economic data. A late October poll found that around 70 percent of Americans reported higher grocery costs, and 59 percent were paying more for utilities compared to the same time last year. The strain crosses party lines, with nearly nine in 10 Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans reporting that they are spending more at the grocery store.
While the national average cost of regular gasoline has remained lower than last year, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) found the average retail price of electricity has risen faster than inflation in several states in recent years, according to LBNL’s analysis (as summarized by Utility Dive). CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale addressed similar claims Trump made previously, noting that grocery prices were actually up and rising at the fastest month-to-month rate in three years. Electricity prices were also up, rising 6.2 percent in August compared to the previous year.
A recent survey found that three-quarters of Americans reported their household expenses had increased in the last year, with some paying between $500 and $749 more each month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported grocery prices are up 29 percent on average since February 2020.
Trump told Baier that the biggest problem regarding cost and affordability is that Republicans don’t talk about it enough. He said Republicans don’t talk about the word affordability, and the Democrats lie about it. Baier agreed that Republicans need to examine the disconnect between economic indicators and everyday experiences. “This dichotomy between how Wall Street’s doing and how big business is doing and how you feel about it at home is something Republicans really have to look at closely,” Baier said.
The Fox News anchor also discussed election dynamics with Trump, agreeing that his absence from the ballot hurt Republican turnout. He said Trump was not on the ballot, and when he’s not, it doesn’t produce the same emotion, but it does produce emotion on the other side with anti-Trump voters who came out in droves as well.
A weekend poll found six in 10 voters told ABC News, Washington Post, and Ipsos pollsters that Trump’s management of inflation and tariffs was doing more harm than good to the American economy. In terms of political consequences, 59 percent of all U.S. adults said they blame Trump a great deal or a good amount for the current rate of inflation.
Trump acknowledged that the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in history, is doing more harm than good to Republicans. The GOP controls both the House and the Senate. Trump also told Baier that he loves Foley because she voted for him three times, and he thinks she would vote for him again if given the opportunity.
