President Donald Trump revealed what he believes is the top issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview with POLITICO released Saturday, Trump argued that control of Congress will come down to “pricing” — while expressing confidence that Americans are buying his latest economic message: that his administration is fixing what former President Joe Biden left behind. “Because, you know, they gave us high pricing, and we’re bringing it down,” Trump said. “Energy’s way down. Gasoline is way down.” He told POLITICO when the gasoline goes down and when the “oil and oil and gas go down,” the electricity comes down naturally. “It’s all coming down. It’s all coming down. It’s coming beautifully,” he said. Although his comments come as inflation cooled in November and U.S. economic growth surged in the third quarter of this year, most Americans appear to feel otherwise, according to a string of polls in recent weeks. A CBS News/YouGov poll, released earlier in the week, revealed that most voters do not have high expectations for the president to make their wallets better off next year, while fewer than 1 in 5 say his policies have helped them financially this year. An Emerson College poll out this month found that a majority of Americans give Trump a failing grade on the economy. A new Fox News poll revealed similar — most voters believe the economy is in bad shape, while many see the president’s focus is elsewhere. Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating on the economy dropped to its lowest level in both terms in an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released earlier this month, which concluded that just 36% of Americans approved of his performance on the economy. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed an even lower figure, with the president receiving just a 31% approval rating on the issue. Trump has particularly turned his attention to the issue of affordability over the last month, from hosting rallies focused on the economy in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to addressing the nation in a primetime speech. In his address, he insisted that he is bringing high prices down “very fast.” He also touted “record-breaking” investment into the United States while pledging that the country is poised for an economic boom to “the likes of which the world has never seen.” “One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead,” Trump said during his 18-minute address on Dec. 17. “Our country was ready to fail. Totally fail. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.” It marked a notable departure from his frequent claims that affordability is a “hoax” and “con job” pushed by Democrats, who scored sweeping wins in last month’s races. During the POLITICO interview, Trump went on to urge Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster — a demand he repeated during the longest-ever government shutdown — while saying it is “hurting” the GOP. “If you get rid of the filibuster, you’re not going to have a shutdown,” Trump said of the looming threat in late January. “You can do everything. You can do great health care if you get rid of the filibuster. We can do everything we want.” Rachel Cohen is a trending national politics writer for NJ.com.