MEMO: SOTU Messaging — Higher Prices Under Trump
To: Interested Parties
Date: February 20, 2026
Subject: SOTU Messaging — Higher Prices Under Trump
OVERVIEW
In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump will likely claim to have solved the American affordability crisis. However, the reality for many families is a Trump-inflicted energy emergency. Trump was elected on the promise of bringing down rising prices that were straining millions of working families, but a little over a year in, Americans are paying the high price of Trump’s policies. From skyrocketing utility bills — by as much as 13% nationally over the last year — to his job-killing war on clean energy, tax breaks for Big Oil and special interests, and the gutting of protections for clean air and water, Trump has consistently put billionaires and corporate interests first.
The spike in utility costs is the direct result of Trump and Republicans decimating American manufacturing and clean energy production. By taking affordable energy off the grid at a time when demand is skyrocketing, the administration is leaving Americans with higher bills and fewer jobs.
These facts provide a necessary baseline to push back on the administration’s rhetoric and inform communications planning around the SOTU address.
TOPLINES & MESSAGING
- Utility Bills Are Spiking: Far from fulfilling his promise to cut energy costs in half in his first year, Trump’s policies led to household electric bills surging by as much as 13%, and the cost of natural gas to produce electricity has increased by nearly 50%, directly contributing to utility companies raising rates by nearly $85.8 billion on American families.
- Jobs Are Down, Prices Are Up: Trump’s policies have destroyed more than 172,000 clean energy jobs, canceled enough renewable projects to power 14.2 million homes, and imposed tariffs that cost the average American household nearly $1,200 in 2025 — compounding families’ financial burden.
- Trump Gutted Disaster Preparedness and Response: Trump and Kristi Noem have gutted our federal disaster response and canceled funding for states to prepare for disasters — putting Americans at risk and pushing the financial burden of recovery onto states and local communities. Trump’s cuts have also made weather forecasting more difficult, degrading storm forecasts and threatening life-saving weather alerts.
- Trump Worsened the Home Insurance Crisis: President Trump, whose cost-raising agenda is worsening the insurance affordability crisis, has received more than $3.7 million in campaign contributions from the industry, and tariffs were expected to increase home insurance costs 38% faster, with tariffs on construction materials alone increasing premiums in some states by more than $400 per year.
- Trump Protected Polluters: Last year alone, Trump gutted more than 31 pollution protections, forfeiting $275 billion in annual savings and up to 30,000 preventable deaths per year. In tandem, he played a dangerous political game with disaster aid, raising the risks and recovery costs for communities facing extreme weather. So far this year, he has walked back the endangerment finding, effectively gutting the federal government’s obligation to protect Americans from pollution, continuing his efforts to remain the most pro-pollution president in our history.
- Billion-Dollar Disasters Aren’t Counted: The president ended NOAA’s practice of tracking billion-dollar disasters, complicating efforts for lawmakers, insurers, and Americans to quantify the financial risks of extreme weather. He, instead, is opting to ignore and deny the growing costs of extreme weather while at the same time diverting $600 million of FEMA’s budget to build immigrant detention centers instead of funding disaster relief as storms get larger and more expensive.
President Trump ran on a promise to lower costs, but since taking office, the only thing he has lowered is his own job approval rating and confidence in his ability to deliver.
IN THE STATES
The following graphs provide a localized rundown of the economic and social impact of the administration’s policies over the last year. These figures highlight the specific toll on their constituents, ranging from utility rate hikes to the massive loss of clean energy jobs and investments.
- Trump’s energy crisis is here. Companies are cancelling clean energy projects and laying off workers because of the administration’s policies, leading utilities to hike rates as energy demand from data centers continues to rise.
TRUMP’S ENERGY CRISIS IS DRIVING JOB LOSSES ACROSS THE U.S.
ENERGY BILLS ARE ALREADY SOARING, AND TRUMP’S ENERGY CRISIS IS MAKING IT EVEN WORSE
Household electric bills have increased by as much as 13% nationally since Trump took office, and the cost of natural gas to produce electricity rose by almost 50% between November 2024 and November 2025. In the year-over-year comparison between November 2024 and November 2025, residential electric prices rose 6%.
THE BOTTOM LINE
One year into the Trump administration, the “affordability crisis” has only worsened for American families. While the president uses the State of the Union to claim economic progress, his policies tell a different story: a 13% spike in utility costs, the elimination of more than 172,000 clean energy jobs, and a systematic gutting of the disaster protections families rely on during their most vulnerable moments.
From shuttered factories in the Midwest to skyrocketing electric bills in the South, everyday Americans are paying the literal price for an agenda that prioritizes corporate oil donors and billionaire tax breaks over household stability. Trump’s self-inflicted energy crisis is a direct betrayal of the working families he promised to protect.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- TRACKER: Trump’s Energy Crisis