By Ken Thomas
DETROIT -- President Trump said the U.S. economy was poised for solid growth this year, pointing to steadying inflation data as he sought to address one of Republicans' biggest vulnerabilities ahead of this year's midterm elections.
Traveling to Michigan, a battleground state, Trump sought to showcase his manufacturing and trade agenda with an address to the Detroit Economic Club and a visit to a Ford Motor plant in Dearborn, Mich., where the automaker produces the strong-selling F-150 pickup.
"We have quickly achieved the exact opposite of stagflation, almost no inflation and super high growth," Trump said, weeks after the federal government said the economy expanded at a 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter of 2025, the highest growth in two years. "We've only been there 11 months. Think of what we can do for the rest of it."
Earlier Tuesday, the Labor Department said consumer prices increased 2.7% in December, unchanged from November's pace and in line with the expectations of economists.
Trump asserted that under his administration, "growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming, incomes are rising, inflation is defeated."
The latest federal data show that the economy is growing solidly, and wages are still rising faster than inflation. Unemployment is low, still below 5%, but many people who are out of work are having a long and difficult time finding full-time jobs. The rate of inflation has slowed since last year.
However, the public remains frustrated with high prices, potentially jeopardizing congressional Republicans' majorities in the fall elections. A Fox News poll in mid-December showed the president with a 39% approval rating on the economy, a similar outlook from other surveys.
During his factory tour, Trump observed the F-150 production process and listened as Bill Ford, the company's executive chair and great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, noted that the carmaker had recently added a third production shift and was operating six days a week, 24 hours a day. "That just shows the demand for this product...and it just gets hotter and hotter," said Ford, who described Trump as being attuned to the company's needs. "He personally is incredibly responsive every time we need something or call."
Trump said he was hopeful that the administration would prevail in a coming ruling by the Supreme Court on his tariff regimen. The justices are considering whether Trump lawfully invoked his authority to levy global tariffs without Congress's approval. "I'm the tariff person. And everybody now admits that I was right on tariffs," Trump said. "And I hope that we win this Supreme Court case."
The president's address to the business-friendly audience came on the heels of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's extraordinary video statement Sunday night disclosing that federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation over his testimony last summer about the central bank's building-renovation project. Powell has called the probe an effort by Trump to end the independence of the central bank.
Trump has for months pressed the Fed to enact steeper rate cuts, saying it would help the economy, and he has continued to air his frustrations with Powell. "We're talking about the head of the Fed...I want somebody that when the market is doing great, interest rates can go down because our country becomes stronger," Trump said.
"That jerk will be gone soon," Trump said of Powell, whose term as chairman ends in May.
Trump previewed additional economic proposals, saying he would release more details on an affordable-housing plan when he attends the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
He said he would seek to make healthcare coverage more affordable, citing plans to outline a "health care affordability framework" later this week aimed at reducing drug prices and providing transparency and accountability from insurance companies.
Trump has rolled out several economic proposals aimed at addressing voters' concerns about high prices, often breaking with Republican orthodoxy and Wall Street supporters.
His proposals have included banning large investors from buying single-family homes, and directing government-backed mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds in an effort to lower rates for home buyers.
He has floated using tariff revenue to fund payments of at least $2,000 to most Americans and is making plans to dominate Venezuela's oil industry, which he says could lead to lower oil and gasoline prices. On Monday night, Trump posted on social media that he never wants "Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers" and that the Big Tech companies building data centers "must 'pay their own way'."
Trump has also proposed a cap on credit card rates of 10% and surprised Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts with a phone call Tuesday to discuss the initiative, along with a Senate-approved affordable housing bill that has stalled in the House -- two parts of Warren's agenda.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2026 16:07 ET (21:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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