According to CBS News polling, voter concern about the cost of living drove Democrats to big victories in the 2025 elections. Now, President Trump is defending Republicans' record on affordability and floating new initiatives.

Washington

President Trump has shifted his focus to affordability issues after Democrats secured major electoral victories, driven largely by voter concerns over the cost of living. The administration has introduced several proposals, including $2,000 checks from tariff revenue, direct payments for health insurance, and a new 50-year mortgage option aimed at lowering monthly housing costs.

Analysts note that while inflation has slowed compared to previous years, prices have still outpaced wage growth, causing financial strain for many Americans. The new measures are intended to address these challenges, but experts caution that initiatives like direct payments could risk increasing inflation and national debt, and that longer-term mortgages may delay homeownership and equity building.

Trump renews focus on affordability after Democrats sweep elections

Welcome back to The Takeout, thanks for hanging out with us. As you might recall, last year President Trump won re-election in part because he promised to tackle inflation. According to CBS News polling, voter concern about the cost of living, which is now referred to under the umbrella term affordability, drove Democrats to big victories last week. That was true for New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikey Sherrill, Virginia Governor-Elect Abigail Spanberger and New York Mayor-Elect Zoran Mamdani. Trump had this take about all of that last week. The affordability is much better with the Republicans. The only problem is the Republicans don't talk about it. And Republicans should start talking about it and use their heads. The whole series of pricing and cost, you know, the groceries and everything else, it was a con job. It was a con job. Affordability they call it, was a con job by the Democrats. The reason I don't want to talk about affordability is because everybody knows that it's far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden. Kelly O'Grady joins me now. Kelly, great to see you. Thanks so much for your help. A flurry, I keep using that word because that's the only way to describe it over the weekend. $2,000 checks from tariff revenue, a 50-year mortgage, direct payments to go for health insurance, $10,000 now today for air traffic controllers who showed up for work. The president is trying to wade into this thing that was perceived to be a political problem for Republicans just last Tuesday. Yeah, I mean, I think the way to think about this is this is the administration trying to address those issues when it comes to affordability. Because look, he's not wrong. Prices are not rising as much as they did under President Biden. You know, that 9% inflation that we saw in summer of 2022, we're nowhere near that. But it's the fact that prices over the last five years have risen more than wages. And that's why people feel that crunch. And when they go to the grocery store, they don't think, oh, well, things are going to get better and we're going to close that gap soon. They just look at what's in front of them. But I think particularly, you know, this idea of the tariff payments is really interesting because there's been a lot of concern. You and I have talked about the consumer sentiment rating a ton major, that people are worried about how tariffs will impact prices. A $2,000 dividend could do something to alleviate that anxiety, alleviate some of that crunch, but it also could spur more inflation. Remember, some of that inflation under the Biden administration was stoked by stimulus payments in the pandemic. This could be something similar. And of course, we don't love what that does for the national debt. No, we do not. What about what the president suggested this weekend and which Bill Pulte, who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said they're working on, and that's the head of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, a 50-year home mortgage? Well, this kept me really busy today, Major. As a potential first-time buyer, I was really interested in this. So I did a bunch of research into the pros and cons. The pro is on that affordability front. It makes that monthly payment significantly lower, but the con is that it increases the interest that you pay over the life of the loan, 50 years versus that traditional 30-year loan that we're all used to. It's a lot more. And so critics are saying you're going to build less equity up front in that term. It's going to take you longer to own your home. But proponents are saying, hey, I just want to get in the game. I want to be able to have that ownership. And I go back to FDR and the birth of the 30-year mortgage. That happened right after the Great Depression, and it was to try and make it more affordable to own a home. So definitely a lot of proponents and critics here. But just that idea of taking on so much debt, some people say you might die before you pay off your mortgage. It is interesting to see the president so favorably compare himself to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at least on this. Kelly O'Grady, thank you so very much.

President Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the White House as ties between the U.S. and Syria appear to strengthen. CBS News' Imtiaz Tyab reports.

Syria will join coalition against ISIS following meeting with Trump

A deadly car explosion in Delhi, India, killed at least eight people and injured at least 19 others on Monday, police said. Devina Gupta of the BBC, a CBS News partner, has more.

New Delhi

Deadly car explosion rocks India's New Delhi, eight killed

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to be released from prison after serving 3 weeks of a 5-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.

Paris

Ex-French President Sarkozy released from prison

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to meet with President Trump at the White House after leading a surprise attack that toppled the Assad regime. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio reports.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meeting Trump at White House

Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed into the Philippines, bringing dangerous conditions to the country for the second time in a matter of days. CBS News' Anna Coren reports.

Manila

Super Typhoon Fung-wong batters the Philippines

Senate Republicans and some Democrats appear to have a plan to end the government shutdown. CBS News' Natalie Brand reports.

Democrats, Republicans reach deal that may end government shutdown

The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has resigned after a row over the editing of a speech made by U.S. President Donald Trump on the day of the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.

London

BBC boss Tim Davie resigns after criticism over Trump speech edit

A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the AI-powered fighter YFQ-44A has begun flight testing, as General Atomics takes to the sky as well.

California

Anduril's unmanned AI-powered fighter jet 'Fury' makes first flight

The U.S. Senate is voting on a bill to fund and reopen the government. Earlier Sunday, the Trump administration ordered states to "undo" SNAP benefits payments amid the funding halt.

Trump admin orders states to 'undo' SNAP payments ahead of Senate vote

Israeli settlers attacked a group of Palestinian villagers, activists and journalists on Saturday (November 8) who had gathered during an attempt to harvest olives near a settler outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, witnesses said. Two Reuters employees were among those injured in the attack by the men who wielded sticks and clubs, and hurled large rocks at them.

Jerusalem

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, journalists in West Bank

Ukrainian energy companies reported a complete power outage after two thermal power plants supplying the Kyiv and Kharkiv were struck overnight by Russia. Officials in Kyiv also shared that their forces carried out strikes targeting the Kremlin's energy sector, which it says funds the invasion.

Kyiv

Ukraine and Russia trade overnight strikes on energy facilities

A tragic Saturday in Tenerife left three people dead and at least 15 injured as exceptionally high waves gripped the Canary archipelago. Officials are reporting waves that can reach as high as four metres.

Tenerife

Three dead as giant waves lash Tenerife

COP30 has kicked off in Belem, Brazil, drawing 50,000 participants to the gateway to the Amazon rain forest. One key topic of the summit is adapting to a warmer world, as well as who will bear the costs for that.

Belém

Brazil welcomes world leaders to Amazon for COP30

Nearly a million people have been evacuated from their homes in the Philippines, as Super Typhoon Fung-wong approaches the country. It’s the most powerful storm to threaten the country this year and is due to make landfall just days after an earlier typhoon killed more than 200 people.

State of emergency declared as Super Typhoon approaches Philippines

This time last year, Ahmed al-Sharaa was wanted by the U.S. with a 10-million-dollar bounty on his head. Today, he's preparing to hold talks with Donald Trump in the White House as the president of Syria. Sharaa arrived in Washington a day after the U.S. removed him from a blacklist.

Damascus

Global sanctions on Syria eased as leader visits U.S.

At least 6 people are dead and 750 people injured after a tornado tore through a town in southern Brazil. Rescuers are still searching for survivors from under the remains of homes and businesses hit by the powerful storm.

Rio Bonito do Iguaçu

Brazil cleans up after deadly tornado

The U.S. government shutdown is now at 40 days—the longest in American history—with no sign of it ending soon. That’s led to chaos at airports but also knock-on effects across industries.

Miami

No end in sight for longest government shutdown in U.S. history

Delays are stacking up across the U.S. Throughout the day, ground stops have been put in place and lifted, fluctuating with staffing levels at several major airports. With more airline flight cuts coming, things will only get worse for flyers. Andres Gutierrez reports.

John F. Kennedy International Airport

Flight cuts could double if shutdown drags into Thanksgiving

Millions of Americans who depend on federally funded food assistance programs, known as SNAP, remain in limbo as the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a full payment of SNAP benefits for now.

Millions who depend on SNAP in limbo as Supreme Court blocks payment

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration could temporarily withhold SNAP benefits after a previous judge ordered the White House to provide full federal food benefits to states by Friday.

Latest Supreme Court ruling adds to shutdown confusion

Satellite imagery is showing details of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan amid the country's ongoing civil war. People in al-Fashir were shot in the streets, targeted in drone strikes, crushed by trucks and abducted, witnesses have said after the RSF, violently seized the Sudanese city.

Al Fashir

Satellite imagery shows horrors in Sudan

At least 14 people were killed in the UPS cargo plane crash near the Louisville International Airport on Tuesday, officials said. UPS and FedEx announced they were grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes "out of an abundance of caution."

Louisville

At least 14 people killed in UPS plane crash, officials say

A deadly typhoon has hit Vietnam after wreaking havoc in the Philippines, where more than a hundred are dead and the number is expected to climb.

Hanoi

Typhoon Kalmaegi pounds Vietnam, death toll rising

In the U.S., more than 1,000 flights were cancelled and thousands more delayed as the Federal Aviation Administration struggles with the impacts of the 37-day government shutdown that left air traffic controllers without pay.

Los Angeles International Airport

Flight cancellations expanding fast due to U.S government shutdown

Ukraine says Russian drone and missile attacks have killed at least three people and damaged energy facilities in three regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted his forces are facing a “difficult situation” holding back Russian troops in the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

Pokrovsk

Ukraine Invasion

Deaths, injuries after Russia hits residential and energy sites in Ukraine

Colombia is once again at the centre of the global drug debate. Under President Gustavo Petro, the government has vowed to move away from decades of U.S.-backed eradication efforts. But as coca cultivation expands to record levels, Washington’s pressure is mounting.

Bogotá

Tensions growing between U.S. and Colombia

Hamas says it's retrieved the remains of an Israeli soldier from a tunnel near Rafah. It's believed to be the body of officer Hadar Goldin. He's one of the five remaining captives meant to be returned to Israel, under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Middle East Conflict

Hamas locates body of deceased Israeli soldier

The United States will officially boycott the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa, escalating a diplomatic dispute by reiterating his controversial claims about the treatment of white farmers in the country and calling the choice of host "a complete disgrace".

Cape Town

U.S. to boycott G20 summit in South Africa over abuse claims

A tornado accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain struck the southern Brazilian state of Parana, killing at least six people, the state government said on Saturday.

Guarapuava

Six killed after tornado lashes Brazil, hundreds injured

The Hungarian leader said he has managed to convince US President Donald Trump to grant his country a full exemption from sanctions for the purchase of Russian energy, after detailing to him the dire consequences it would have on the Hungarian people.

Breakdown