Dalton

WASHINGTON — President Clinton famously said he could feel voters’ pain over the economy. But these days, when it comes to questions about high prices, President Trump insists that the pain is his.

“They hit me with affordability, and that’s the first time I ever heard the word used,” he complained in Nebraska earlier this month.

The White House leaves Vice President JD Vance to use a softer touch. Last month in Texas, he admitted “there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress.” And during a CBS News town hall on Saturday, Vance said, “I recognize that gas prices are too high right now” and “we’re working on it.”

Depending on which Republican is speaking, Americans are getting a different perspective on how bad things are with the economy. Trump says “the golden age of America is upon us.” Vance walks a tightrope to show that he knows voters are feeling an economic pinch while still selling them on Trump’s agenda.

The disconnect comes as Americans’ confidence in the economy sank to the lowest level in more than a decade this month, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate jumped this month to its highest level in nearly three years and the unemployment rate ticked up last month.

Recent economic data released this month shows that high gasoline prices are intensifying inflation and more expensive oil and gas have begun to push prices up in other parts of the economy.

While most of Trump’s supporters don’t hold him at fault, some acknowledge that the president’s penchant for salesmanship may not hit the mark.

“I think he talks it up,” said Conda Little, a 76-year-old retiree who went to see Trump in Dalton, Ga., on Friday. “I think Vance is more real.”

Little takes the president at his word that he will achieve a victory over Iran in a way that benefits U.S. consumers back home. But she said it’s impossible to deny the fallout from the conflict.

“Everybody’s real upset about the gas” and “groceries are out of sight,” she said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard,” she said, adding that, “I think that people need to hear the truth.”

‘We need to do more’

Trump is loath to acknowledge concerns. He told reporters earlier this month that he gives himself “an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything.” He has dismissed concerns about high costs, arguing that concerns about affordability are a “hoax.”

“We’re in the golden age of America. So our nation is doing better now than ever before,” he told a crowd in Kentucky on Saturday while campaigning for Republican candidates.

Trump has occasionally acknowledged that gas prices are high, but has called it “a small price to pay” for keeping the country and the world safe with the Iran war.

Trump’s discordant message with one of the top concerns voters are voicing ahead of the midterm elections has seemed heightened by his fixation on beautifying Washington and building a large ballroom at the White House.

During a visit this month to an economically struggling corner of Arizona, he regaled the crowd with the story about how he ended up with a luxury jet gifted by Qatar to use as Air Force One.

Vance, as he crisscrosses the country, is quick to say that the administration has more work to do.

To cast blame, the vice president often says that his administration’s Democratic predecessors put the country in such a deep hole that they need more time to climb out.

To show empathy, he often references his own experience growing up in a working-class family in a Rust Belt town. That’s far different from Trump, who comes from a wealthy family, is a billionaire and even joked during his speeches on Friday and Saturday that if people have lunch at his Mar-a-Lago club, “for $5,000, you’ll get one hamburger and a small dessert.”

Vance, during a CBS News town hall that aired on Saturday, said: “I grew up in a working-class family. When gas prices were high, I know that it made my grandmother suffer, and I’m sure that you’re struggling with it in a variety of ways.”

When asked by the moderator about the mixed message he and Trump are giving on the economy, Vance said Trump was speaking about new investments coming into the country, but said the changes take time.

“We need to do more, and we can certainly do better,” he acknowledged.

Many Trump supporters trust his pitch

Some voters said Trump’s rosy view on the economy turns them away, like Santiago Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Texas college student who will be voting for the first time this year.

Rodriguez, who attended a campaign rally last week for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, said he would consider voting for a Republican but not while Trump is in charge because he doesn’t grasp the high cost of living for Americans.

“I think he’s out of touch, I think he’s never seen what a true day as a Texan or anybody in general who is in the working class,” Rodriguez said.

Trump’s most loyal supporters aren’t interested in blaming high prices on anything the president has done.

Cindy Massengill, a 67-year-old who came to see Trump in Dalton, Ga., said she felt he’s doing the best he can.

“I’m positive that he’s got done more than any other president after the mess we were left with Obama and Biden,” she said.

Mary Bunker, a 67-year-old Republican who attended Trump’s Monday rally near Wichita, Kan., said she works multiple jobs, including as a waitress and DoorDash driver.

She feels the pressure of high gas prices, but she likes the tax breaks that Trump signed into law last year and she doesn’t fault the way he speaks about economic concerns.

“I think he’s a very good businessman,” Bunker said. “He’s been in business a long time, so I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Bill Barrow in Dalton, Ga., Jesse Bedayn in San Marcos, Texas, and Nicholas Ingram in Park City, Kan., contributed to this report.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Wednesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months. He would be able to hit well before then.

Rushing had two stints on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right forearm, along with the UCL tear. He said last month that imaging suggested the slight tear in his UCL hadn’t worsened since 2022.

Rushing took on a larger role this season when primary catcher Will Smith was sidelined for three months by a nagging neck injury. By Aug. 1, Rushing had already logged 245 plate appearances, dwarfing his 2025 rookie season’s total in the majors (155).

Though he’d carried high workloads in the minors before, being a major-league starting catcher comes with added responsibility. Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.

He’d settled into the role, and owned an .809 OPS, when his elbow injury flared while throwing before a game on Aug. 2. He landed on the IL the next day and returned at the beginning of September in a pinch-hitting role.

Rushing logged just four at-bats (0-for-4) before he aggravated the injury trying to build up in a throwing program. He returned again for the last series of the regular season, firmly in a battle for a postseason roster spot as a bat off the bench, and went hitless in three at-bats.

Rushing had initially been hopeful he’d be able to avoid surgery.

“My main plan moving into playing every day in the future is, make sure that my body can hold whatever stress or whatever is needed for this team — first base, behind the plate, whatever they need,” Rushing told the Times last month. “I want to make sure my body can handle it and do it for 162.”

The Lakers waived former first-round pick Dalton Knecht on Monday to reach the NBA’s maximum roster requirements before the season begins this week.

The 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft had fallen out of the rotation in the last two seasons but had a chance to prove himself during training camp and the preseason, when the Lakers had 16 players on guaranteed contracts. Knecht, who averaged 4.2 points per game and 10.2 minutes per game last season, played just 14 combined minutes in the last two preseason games.

Knecht’s role had greatly diminished since he flashed his scoring potential as a rookie. After scoring 37 points in a win over the Utah Jazz in November 2024 and tying the single-game rookie record with nine made three-pointers, Knecht looked as if he could have been the steal of the draft. But after a trade to Charlotte for center Mark Williams was rescinded, Knecht never settled back into the rotation.

The Lakers brought in nine new players during an offseason roster overhaul, further burying Knecht on the forward depth chart.

“The team changed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Knecht ahead of the Lakers’ preseason finale last Friday. “The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years.”

The Lakers looked into acquiring center Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks during the preseason in exchange for Knecht, sources close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. But talks broke down when the Lakers were unwilling to part with multiple second-round draft picks.

The Lakers, who wanted to solidify their backup center position behind Walker Kessler, have only three second-round draft picks (2031, 2032 and 2033) available to trade. They already don’t control their first-round pick until 2032 after sending two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to Utah to acquire Kessler this summer.

Knecht was given an “excused absence” from practice Monday, Redick said. The deadline for teams to reach the maximum of 15 standard contract players was 2 p.m. PDT Monday before regular-season games begin Tuesday. The Lakers open their season Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.

Redick also said guard Bronny James was excused from practice, noting there were players who were “under the weather.” The third-year guard who was picked 55th overall in the same draft as Knecht remained on the Lakers’ updated roster.

James worked his way into the postseason rotation last season while the Lakers were struggling with injuries to their backcourt. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists during the regular season while shooting 38.6% from three.

Injury update

Lakers guard Collin Sexton speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Sept. 28.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

For the first time since training camp started, Collin Sexton was a full participant in practice with the Lakers on Monday. Still, Sexton wasn’t ready to fully commit to playing in the Lakers’ season-opener Wednesday.

Sexton missed all five preseason games and a lot of practices with a lower right leg injury.

Sexton, who said he felt good at practice, was asked about playing against the Warriors.

“We’ll be taking it day by day,” he said. “At the end of the day, I had a really good practice today, felt good. Super excited to be back out there with the guys, so I look forward to it.”

Sexton said he had some “tightness and stuff” in his lower leg, “but I feel pretty good.”

He was asked what caused the injury.

“Nothing particular,” Sexton said. “I think we figured it out and now we’re just moving forward and just continue to get these reps in, continue to play five on five, and get out there as soon as possible.”

Sexton is a 6-1 point guard the Lakers signed to back up Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the backcourt. The Lakers signed him to a two-year, $19.2-million deal.

“He’s another guy that can bring the ball up and can create his own [mismatch],” Doncic said. “So we’re excited to have him back.”

Second-year forward Adou Thiero and rookie guard Cameron Carr both missed practice Monday.

But having Sexton back was a good sign for the Lakers.

“It felt good, super excited to be back out there, honestly, just getting out there and getting up and down, legs felt a little heavy, but it was great,” Sexton said. “It was definitely a great day, great practice for the team as well, and the guys were really competing.”