“Political suicide”: Trump says he wants to “drive housing prices up” instead of down

Anyone who believed that President Donald Trump would make housing more affordable during his second term got a rude awakening this week as the president publicly vowed to "drive housing prices up."

Trump's comments came during a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 29, 2026, during which he made his priorities to keep wealth concentrated among those who already have assets crystal clear.

"People that own their homes, we're gonna keep them wealthy," he said. "We're gonna keep those prices up. We're not gonna destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn't work very hard can buy a home."

The idea that people who can't currently afford to buy a home simply aren't working hard enough is largely false.

The median cost to purchase a home has nearly doubled in the U.S. in the past 20 years, outpacing the increase in median income and making home ownership increasingly out of reach for younger generations—especially when you take the increase in other living costs into consideration.

"There's so much talk about, 'Oh, we're gonna drive housing prices down,'" he continued.

"I don't wanna drive housing prices down, I wanna drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured that's what's gonna happen."

Does President Trump support affordable housing?

Trump's comments stand in contrast to previous claims he has made, suggesting he wants make housing more affordable for average Americans.

Even as recently as Jan. 7, 2026, he wrote on Truth Social that the "American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people," blaming Joe Biden, Democrats, and "Record High Inflation" for people's inability to purchase homes.

But within two weeks, he was using his time at Davos to say that "every time you make it more and more and more affordable for somebody to buy a house cheaply, you are actually hurting the value of those houses," and affirm that he wanted to prioritize protecting those assets.

Social media backlash

To people who have looked at Trump's history as a businessman, this is far from surprising. But hearing him admit out loud that he actually wants to drive housing prices up is still upsetting, and plenty of his critics deeply wish that it would wake MAGA up.

Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan wrote on X that Trump's words are "Not surprising coming from the guy who called affordability a 'democratic hoax.'"

"This man has no concept of what life is like for normal people," he added.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who often criticizes the president on X, wrote: "It's great when he tells you his plan. He just cares about his billionaire real estate friends and helping them make money. He doesn't care about you."

Philosophy professor Edward Feser, meanwhile, called it "political suicide."

"You will own nothing and be happy," replied the Menswear Guy.

"To all the young people who voted for Trump because you were concerned about rising prices: You're suckers. You're dupes. You're idiots."

"Translation: I don’t want young people to form families. I want old people to get richer," wrote @TPCarney.

"To all the kids in their 20s still living at home and the young families who can’t save enough for a down payment: Trump doesn’t care. He wants to keep you priced out," Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego wrote.

"Telling people struggling to afford a home that they don't deserve to because they "didn't work very hard" is a bold approach to the affordability crisis. Let's see if it works out for him," wrote The Young Turks co-host

How's that American dream looking now?

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