If you listened only to the woke media, you’d think America is still stuck in crisis. But after 11 months under President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, real Americans — not the pundits or Ivy-League “experts” — are feeling something they haven’t in years: Relief. Not slogans. Not spin. Actual, measurable relief. Because the Trump-Vance Administration is tackling affordability where it matters most: gas, groceries, housing, wages, and the cost of medicine.
For those Americans who say they still don’t feel the shift yet, that’s exactly why Trump’s America First policies matter. They are changing the trajectory after years of the failed economic policies of the previous administration, as well as exhaustion and financial pressure. The early relief Americans are seeing at the pump and in paychecks is only the beginning of the broader turnaround already underway.
Start with gas — one of the most immediate, unavoidable expenses for working families. Today, average gas prices have fallen to the lowest level in 1,682 days, dipping below $3 per gallon in 36 states, below $2.75 in 20 states, below $2.50 in five states, and even below $2.00 at stations in four states. That is not an abstraction. That is the difference between a family driving to work, school, and church without wondering which bill they’ll have to skip to afford a full tank. It also means cheaper transportation costs, lower utility pressures, and reduced input costs for businesses, all of which help slow inflation across the economy.
And the progress goes far beyond gas. Inflation, the punishing, invisible tax that hit as high as 9.1% in the previous administration, has been cut by more than half, averaging just 2.7% under President Trump. America has even seen the first overall price decline since 2020. After four years of runaway costs, families are finally catching their breath.
The labor market tells a similar story. Under the previous administration, Americans lost purchasing power as prices jumped faster than wages. Under Trump, Americans have regained ground. That means paychecks that go further, fewer families living on the edge, and a workforce regaining confidence after years of instability.
Housing, another major pressure point, is also improving. Mortgage rates, which hit their highest levels in decades under the previous administration, are now moving in the right direction. As of early December, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.19%, down 12% since the day President Trump returned to office. Shelter inflation has fallen to a four-year low, and the national median rent has declined four months in a row. For young families, seniors on fixed incomes, and new homeowners, this is the beginning of long-awaited relief.
Families are seeing progress in grocery aisles as well. Prices for key staples— eggs, butter, fresh fruit, cereal, fish, seafood, rice, pasta, and ham — have all posted declines under the Trump-Vance Administration. After years of sticker shock at supermarkets, many households are finally paying less for basic necessities.
One of the most overlooked but transformational areas of progress is health care. The Trump-Vance Administration’s April 2025 executive order jump-started the approval and availability of generics and biosimilars, accelerating access to low-cost medicines. According to recent industry estimates, generics and biosimilars saved Americans $467 billion, with another $20.2 billion in savings specifically from biosimilars. That is real money staying in the pockets of seniors, parents, and people with chronic conditions. The Trump-Vance Administration’s continued push to expand importation pathways, cap out-of-pocket costs for essential drugs, and demand pricing transparency from middlemen is further lowering the cost of care for the uninsured, the underinsured, and families squeezed by years of inflation.
And while easing costs is central, the administration is simultaneously strengthening wages, productivity, and economic growth. President Trump’s historic tax legislation — No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, and No Tax on Social Security — will raise Americans’ take-home pay by up to $13,300 and wages by as much as $11,600. The average tax refund alone is expected to rise by about $1,000 per filer. Actions to cut government regulations are delivering another $180 billion in savings — or $2,100 per family of four — by reversing burdensome Biden-era rules that raised the cost of everyday appliances.
The results are clear: 1.9 million more American-born workers are employed today than when Trump took office, consumer sentiment is rising, small business optimism is strengthening, and companies have invested trillions into U.S. operations, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. At the same time, spending cuts, tariff revenues, interest savings, and faster growth are on track to reduce the federal deficit by trillions of dollars.
The radical Left can ignore these numbers. They can attempt to gaslight Americans into believing nothing is improving. But they cannot argue with utility bills going down, gas tanks costing less, grocery prices easing, real wages rising, housing stabilizing, and families finally exhaling after years of financial pressure.
The turnaround is real. The progress is measurable. And this is only the beginning. America is becoming more affordable, more stable, and more secure. That is what it means to put America first, and it is exactly what the Trump-Vance Administration is doing.
Jorge Martinez is senior advisor and National Director for Hispanic Outreach for America First Works. He previously served as press secretary for the U.S. Department of Justice.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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