Trump pulls from the left’s economic playbook: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the political officea newsletter bringing you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon explore how President Donald Trump is looking for an unlikely source of economic policy inspiration. Plus, Adam Edelman dives into the Minneapolis mayor’s return to the national spotlight.

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—Adam Wollner

Trump looks to progressives for ideas on affordability

By Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon

President Donald Trump is seeking unlikely allies as it rolls out a new agenda to try to address Americans’ concerns about affordability and position Republicans for the midterm elections: progressives.

Left: In recent days, Trump renewed his campaign promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10% after failing to push for it in his first year in office, vowed to ban large investors from buying homes and ordered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest $200 billion in mortgage bonds.

Trump also raised eyebrows among traditional economic conservatives by calling for the government to take stakes in some private companies, threatening to punish others for not complying with his demands and pressuring the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell to lower interest rates – in conjunction with the Justice Department’s investigation into the central bank.

“This is not about limited government and free market policies, and it also sets a precedent for the next time a Democrat enters the White House,” said Marc Courtwho was White House director of legislative affairs and chief of staff to the then-Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s first term.

Trump’s record: For most of the first year of his second term, Trump pursued economic policies that progressives hate: dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, cutting taxes on high earners as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and letting health insurance subsidies from the Affordable Care Act expire. His plan to offer buyers 50-year mortgages landed like a lead balloon and was abandoned.

Yesterday, Trump called the senator. Elizabeth WarrenD-Mass., after giving a speech accusing his own party of being too cozy with its wealthy donors.

“I delivered the same message directly to him about affordability,” Warren said. She added that so far, Trump “has only increased costs for families” and that he needs to “use his influence and pick up the phone” if he really wants to move some of these economic policies forward.

Live from Detroit: In a speech this afternoon at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump declined to provide further details on the new agenda items. Instead, he declared that “the Trump economic boom has officially begun,” just hours after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices continued to rise during his first year in office.

“In the coming weeks, I will outline even more plans to help bring back affordability,” Trump said, while calling the issue a “fake word” generated by Democrats to convince voters he is to blame for high prices.

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey emerges as city’s ’emotional voice’ after ICE shooting

By Adam Edelman

Hours after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was shot and killed Renee Nicole Good37 years old, in Minneapolis last week, mayor Jacob Frey delivered a passionate, expletive-riddled response to the latest tragedy to strike his city.

His remarks — headlined by his call for ICE to “fuck off Minneapolis” — ricocheted across social media, giving voice to the frustration and anger many people around the country felt about the incident.

Since then, Frey, 44, now serving his third term, has continued to respond frequently, bluntly and often emotionally to the Trump administration’s shooting and surge of immigration agents in Minnesota through a series of television interviews, newspaper op-eds and news conferences.

It put him again at the center of a contentious national debate – a position he held more than five years ago when another Minneapolis resident, George Floyddied at the hands of law enforcement, where Good was shot.

In the wake of Floyd’s killing, many said Frey struggled to regain control of Minneapolis as it descended into chaos and rioting. And he has been criticized by progressives for his refusal to commit to “defund the police.”

This time around, those who have closely followed Frey’s tenure see growth.

“Leadership does not stagnate. It was forged under pressure, and from my perspective, I have seen Mayor Frey grow in real time during some of the most painful chapters our city has ever experienced. He has not been perfect, but I have watched his growth and I am proud of that growth,” said PJ Hilla Democratic businessman who owns several buildings near where Floyd was killed in 2020.

Voters re-elected Frey in November against a field of packed competitors, including the state senator. Omar Fataha democratic socialist. Frey has said he will not seek a fourth term, leading to speculation he will seek higher office in blue-leaning Minnesota in the near future.

But for now, he is an important voice in a broader debate over federal versus local authority, against the backdrop of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

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That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. Today’s newsletter was written by Adam Wollner and Owen Auston-Babcock.

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