President Donald Trump's senior adviser Tim Murtaugh said on Newsmax on Saturday that the president plans to take his economic message directly to voters in communities hit hardest by inflation, with Trump stepping into the role of "campaigner in chief" ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Murtaugh, founder of Line Drive Communications, made the remarks on "Saturday Report" while pointing to Trump's rally Friday night in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
He said Trump is "the best messenger" for highlighting what he described as progress on inflation and affordability, predicting the president will be highly visible on the trail as Republicans look to boost candidates next year.
As a secondary focus, Murtaugh argued that energy and healthcare costs remain central drivers of economic anxiety, and a key political vulnerability for Democrats.
He blamed Biden-era actions targeting domestic energy production for pushing prices higher and fueling inflation, and accused Democrats of campaigning on affordability after policies he said made essentials more expensive.
"So if you hear a Democrat talk about affordability of anything that has to be produced using domestic energy, or if anything, of anything that relates to the cost of health insurance, if you hear Democrats talking about that, ask them, 'Well, well, gosh, then why did you make it so expensive?'" Murtaugh asked.
Murtaugh also took aim at Democratic-backed healthcare laws, singling out the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act as measures he claimed benefited health insurers and contributed to rising costs for consumers.
He urged Republicans to draw a sharper contrast on both energy and healthcare as Trump intensifies his involvement in the 2026 cycle.
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