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With 100 days until the US midterm elections, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has put the rising cost of living at the centre of his party's campaign to retake the US House of Representatives. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Jeffries launched the Democrats' "Fighting for an Affordable America" agenda, arguing that working Americans are struggling under the policies of President Donald Trump and Republican control of Congress.
"When you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to live a middle-class life, a comfortable life, an affordable life, live a good life," Jeffries said during his speech for Democratic congressional candidate Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, one of several Republican-held seats Democrats are targeting. "You know what that looks like: a good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, a good education for your children, and when it's all said and done, a good retirement."
Coverage comparison
Jeffries' message was reported by Al Jazeera and The Guardian, with both outlets highlighting his focus on affordability and his criticism of the Trump administration. Al Jazeera's coverage centered on the launch of the "Fighting for an Affordable America" agenda and the broader campaign strategy, while The Guardian reported on Jeffries' separate appearance on CNN's State of the Union, where he expanded on the same themes.
Both reports noted that Jeffries framed the midterm elections as a choice between a Republican party that has failed to lower costs and a Democratic agenda that promises to make life more affordable. The Guardian quote Jeffries telling State of the Union host Dana Bash that Republicans "have failed to actually deliver on making life more affordable for the American people," adding, "It was Donald Trump who promised to lower costs on day one. But we know that costs haven't gone down in this country. Costs have gone up."
Key claims
Jeffries argued that Donald Trump's Republican party has "nothing to run on" for the congressional midterm elections, according to The Guardian, because the president broke promises to lower costs and avoid starting war overseas. The Guardian reported that Jeffries alluded to the US and Israeli militaries' war with Iran, which began in February after Trump won a second presidency in 2024, despite his campaign promise not to start "endless wars in the Middle East." The war's costs, as reported by The Guardian, have included the deaths of 18 US troop members as of Sunday and injuries to hundreds more.
The affordability crisis was a recurring theme. The Guardian cited exclusive polling conducted for the newspaper finding that 95% of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis. Al Jazeera reported a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that 74% of Americans believed the cost of living was on the wrong track. Both outlets noted that gas and grocery prices have soared amid the conflict.
Al Jazeera added that grocery prices are up 33% since the beginning of 2019, and that housing has become increasingly unaffordable after home prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guardian reported that Republicans cut more than $1tn from Medicaid.
Jeffries also touched on an election integrity issue, as reported by The Guardian. He spoke about how Trump and other Republicans seized on a 21 July announcement from New Jersey Governor Mike Sherrill that 6,600 noncitizens in the state had registered to vote because of a software error. Fewer than 400 of them voted before the error was identified and corrected, but the president and his allies used the disclosure to boost false claims about noncitizens on voter rolls, Jeffries argued.
Al Jazeera reported that Donald Trump's personal wealth has increased by $2bn since taking office.
Jeffries offered few specifics on how Democrats would measure success or what concrete policies they would pursue to bring down costs, according to Al Jazeera, focusing instead on broad priorities including good-paying jobs, housing, healthcare, education, and retirement security.