Vice President JD Vance has acknowledged that the cost of living — particularly groceries and housing — remains painfully high, but once again pointed the finger at what he called the “disastrous Biden economy,” despite the fact that the Trump administration has been in power for more than eight months.
“Housing is too expensive, groceries are too expensive. Now, I would say they’re too expensive because we inherited a disastrous Biden economy, and we’re making progress,” Vance said during a Friday appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle.
🚨HANDOUTS OR DIGNITY FOR YOUTH🚨@VP: “Young people feel the American dream is unaffordable—housing, groceries, life itself. If we don’t give them a stake in the future, they’ll keep turning to socialism.” pic.twitter.com/nGOPSO6rXK
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) September 27, 2025
The vice president’s remarks came during a discussion on the U.S. economy and whether its struggles are tied to the unexpected rise of Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. His comments followed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its Consumer Price Index report for August — the first full month after Trump’s tariffs took effect — showing prices climbing 0.4 percent in just one month and 2.9 percent compared to the same time last year.
Economists surveyed by FactSet forecasted the same numbers: a 2.9 percent annual rise in consumer prices, higher than July’s 2.7 percent. When stripping out volatile food and energy categories, core inflation stayed at 3.1 percent. Both figures continue to sit above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
“First of all, we have to give the President a lot of credit here, because he inherited one of the worst inflation crises in American history, and we’ve had very stable inflation over the last seven or eight months, sort of two to 3 percent right?” Vance argued. “Where economists typically say that you want it, but there’s a lot of work to do, because prices got so high under the Biden administration.”
Vance also highlighted that many younger Americans “feel like the American dream is unaffordable,” cautioning fellow conservatives against dismissing Mamdani too quickly. “Some of my fellow conservatives make a mistake in dismissing Mamdani as a socialist, as a communist.”
That same point was echoed by former President Trump in lighter terms, who recently referred to Mamdani as “my little communist” during a Fox & Friends interview.
“It’s only been eight months, but we’ve made a lot of progress, but unless we give young people a stake in the future, we can’t dismiss their concerns as socialism,” Vance said. “They’re going to choose socialism if given an option between free stuff and a bad life. We have to make sure they have an option between free stuff and a real life of dignity, of purpose. That’s what the American conservative movement can provide to them. But we’ve got to do a better job at articulating it, or they’re going to continue to be attracted to people like Mamdani.”
These remarks arrived just as a Marist poll suggested Mamdani has surged to the front of the New York mayoral race, taking 45 percent support compared to Andrew Cuomo’s 24 percent. Republican Curtis Sliwa followed with 17 percent, while Mayor Eric Adams — who has insisted he will not drop out — sat at just 9 percent. Five percent of voters remain undecided ahead of the November 4 election.
