Let them eat SUVs: Trump White House orders fleet of luxury cars as Americans struggle

Gas prices are up almost a dollar a gallon since the day Donald Trump took office; mortgage rates just hit their highest level in nearly a year, and over the weekend a prominent economist said the Iran war is costing the average US household more than $1,200.

Americans are struggling through a deepening affordability crisis caused largely by Trump’s ill-fated war against Iran. They are in need of a boost, something to lift the spirits. Perhaps the president could give a speech, letting the people know that we are all in this together.

Or, he could give a speech announcing that the White House has just ordered 250 brand new Cadillac Escalades, giant SUVs which have a suggested retail price of more than $90,000 each and cost significantly more to customize for secure uses.

“We ordered 250 Escalades. That’s how we look sharp in those cavalcades, you know,” Trump said during a rambling, hour-long address at a General Motors facility in Michigan.

“We look sharp in those Escalades. Our guys are very spoiled. They’re very spoiled. They like the Escalade. So do I.”

I’d like to think I would look sharp in an Escalade. But, like most people in the US, I cannot afford one: especially if, as seems likely, the White House orders the armored version of the SUV, which can cost more than $300,000. And then, of course, I’d have to fill the 24-gallon gas tank.

The symbolism of Trump’s gesture, his fiddling with car specifications while Rome burns, is consistent with his Lucille Bluth-like behavior in recent weeks. He’s dismissed “affordability” as a term concocted by Democratic political consultants to criticize his presidency, introduced a new round of tariffs likely to push up prices, and refused to sign a rare bipartisan housing bill. It’s still shocking. Even Scrooge didn’t order a new horse and cart as Tiny Tim’s health declined.

Yet here we are, in 2026, with a billionaire president crowing about spending at least $22m of Americans’ money on a fleet of luxury SUVs, an act which seems extremely unlikely to boost morale.

“Hey I know inflation is out of control and a lot of folks can’t afford basic necessities, but at least we’re tackling waste fra ud and abuse by buying… *checks notes* 250 Escalades for the government,” the Angry Staffer account wrote on X, capturing much of the mood.

The announcement of the car purchase was a baffling move in what was a confusing speech. Trump’s address in Michigan was supposed to be about US auto manufacturing, but instead his remarks took on transgender rights, “Marxist protesters” and how, should Democrats win control of the government: “In one year, the country will be absolutely bankrupt. You’ll live in squalor. You’ll live in fear. You won’t have police. You won’t have firemen. You won’t have anybody.”

Trump also disclosed to the crowd that he was “sort of a clean freak, I like clean”, before claiming he had been awarded “man of the year” in Michigan 25 years ago. The latter was an interesting claim, because Trump has been claiming to have been awarded this Michigan man of the year title for a decade, and it never happened.

“Approaching 10 full years after Trump debuted the ‘Man of the Year’ lie, nobody has ever been able to find any evidence for it,” CNN’s Daniel Dale wrote.

“The state of Michigan does not give out a ‘Man of the Year’ award, Trump has never lived in the state, and he and his team have never specified who or what entity supposedly gave him this award and when.”

It’s all very well for the president: swanning about the midwest bulk-buying massive SUVs, “liking clean”, living in a fantasy world where he is handed awards left right and center.

It’s hard to see, however, how this display of opulence and this dabbling in make-believe helps everyday Americans. We’ll have to see what Trump has planned next to lift the mood. Perhaps he could announce a new caviar supplier, or a wholesale purchase of top hats. Or maybe he could settle for just slathering gold all over his office. Time will tell.