U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on Tuesday, July 16, 2026, issued a public statement and released a video criticizing President Donald Trump’s primetime address and laying out priorities she says Democrats should focus on for Americans facing rising costs.
Gillibrand, who said she will spend Friday traveling across New York to talk about grocery prices, called the president “out of touch and out of his depth” and accused him of focusing on an election he lost rather than on economic relief for families.
In the video and statement, Gillibrand faulted the administration’s policies for raising costs, including what she described as the impact of tariffs and the administration’s foreign policy. She also accused the president of building a case to “undermine our elections this November.”
Gillibrand said Americans deserve “real relief — lower prices, accessible healthcare, and a cost of living that doesn’t price them out of their own lives,” and urged Republicans to join Democrats in that work.
The senator’s full video statement is available online: https://youtu.be/4JrfN6CdMZU.
What she said (attributed)
Gillibrand’s release included several direct assertions about policy and effects, including that tariffs have acted as a hidden tax on groceries and household goods, that U.S. action in Iran has contributed to higher gas prices, and that recent policies have stripped healthcare from millions — assertions presented in the release as her analysis of the administration’s record.
This is a statement from the senator’s office and reflects her positions; the release does not include a direct response from the White House or Republican officials.
