Trump Tells Reporter “Don’t Be Dramatic” When She Asks Him About Rising Holiday Costs

Donald Trump told a reporter not to be dramatic after she raised concerns that Americans are struggling to afford living costs over the holiday season.

Politico’s Dasha Burns sat down with the president for a 45-minute interview for this week's episode of The Conversation.

During the interview, Burns brought up that subsidies under the Affordable Care Act—more commonly known as Obamacare—are set to expire in the coming weeks.

It was an issue that caused the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, as Democrats refused to support a stopgap bill until Republicans agreed to extend the subsidies.

Ultimately, they failed to secure that guarantee when seven of their colleagues and one independent voted with the GOP to push through the stopgap measure.

If subsidies expire, health insurance will become more expensive for millions of Americans, causing many to face higher monthly premiums or lose coverage altogether.

It comes at a time when many Americans already feel the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis and struggle to afford essentials.

During the interview with Burns, published online Tuesday, Trump insisted “prices are coming down.”

“You talk about affordability, the Democrats love to say, ‘Affordability, affordability,’ but then they never talk about it,” he said.

“They’re the ones who gave us the high prices. I’m the one that’s bringing them down.”

In response, Burns told him that one of the biggest issues on affordability right now is health care and asked if letting Obamacare subsidies expire was acceptable to him.

Skirting around the question, Trump claimed that Obamacare was set up for insurance companies to become rich, and said he did not want to pay any money to those companies.

As Burns pushed him to answer whether he would order Congress to extend the subsidies, Trump conceded, “I don’t know.”

“I’d like to get better health care, I’d like to have people buy their own health care,” he added. “I want to give the money to the people, not to the insurance companies.”

“So right now, people are buying their holiday presents,” Burns said. “They’re planning for...”

Trump interrupted and told her, “Look, don’t be dramatic,” as Burns responded, “No, no.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” the president repeated.

“They’re planning their budgets for next year, Mr. President,” Burns continued, as she pressed, “Will their premiums go up?”

“I’m giving them money,” Trump told her. “I want to give the money to the people to buy their own health care. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Trump then continued to claim that the Democrats are “owned by insurance companies” and want them to get “trillions of dollars” because they are “corrupt people.”

His comments on affordability come after he earlier labeled the issue as a Democratic hoax, a stance that appears to have led to tanking popularity among his voters.

To boost his agenda, Trump embarked on the first of many rally-style events in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, again labeling affordability a “hoax” and claiming he was reducing prices.

A poll released by Politico last week found that 46% of Americans view the cost-of-living crisis as the worst in memory, with 37% of those being voters who supported Trump in 2024.

Groceries are at the top of the list of things people struggle to afford, followed by housing and then health care.

As per the poll, 46% of Americans said the economy was now Trump’s responsibility, with 56% describing it as a top priority.

A total of 61% of Trump voters trusted the GOP more than the Democrats to reduce the cost of living, compared to 88% of MAGA-aligned voters.

At a Cabinet meeting before the poll was released, Trump described affordability as a “Democrat scam” and “con job.”