A collected photo of US President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON, United States, Dec 14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump 
hinted that Republicans could lose the 2026 midterm elections, despite 
touting the "greatest economy in history," in an interview with the Wall 
Street Journal published Saturday.

The Republican, who returned to the White House in January, has regularly 
insisted that the US economy is now booming, as he continues to blame 
inflation on his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

"I've created the greatest economy in history. But it may take people a while 
to figure all these things out," Trump said in the interview, which the 
Journal said was conducted Friday in the Oval Office.

"All this money that's pouring into our country is building things right now-
car plants, AI, lots of stuff. I cannot tell you how that's going to equate 
to the voter, all I can do is do my job."

With the 2026 midterm elections looming, Trump stressed that "prices are in 
good shape."

"Even those that had, you know, a successful presidency" have suffered 
setbacks, the former real estate developer told the Journal.

"We'll see what happens. We should win. But, you know, statistically, it's 
very tough to win. Yeah, it doesn't make sense."

Trump, who vowed to reduce inflation if re-elected, insists he has succeeded 
in this campaign promise, despite opinion polls showing low approval ratings 
for his economic strategy.

A poll conducted by the University of Chicago for the Associated Press found 
that only 31 percent of US adults now approve of Trump's handling of the 
economy -- down from 40 percent in March.

"When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the 
Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?" Trump said in a social media 
post Thursday.

"When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the 
Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year 
ago?" he added.

Inflation soared during Biden's tenure. It initially slowed after Trump's 
return to power in January, but has accelerated since April.

The last published inflation figure, in September, showed a 2.8 percent year-
over-year price increase. The government did not release statistics for 
October due to a government shutdown. The figure for November is expected 
next week.