Navajo, Arizona leaders reject Trump’s rosy economy claims
By Donovan Quintero
Special to the Times
WINDOW ROCK – As President Donald Trump declared in his State of the Union address that “our nation is back – bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Navajo and Arizona leaders described a far more complicated reality unfolding across tribal and rural communities.
Trump told Congress that inflation is falling, grocery prices are dropping and the economy is “roaring like never before,” calling the current moment “the golden age of America.”
But Arizona state Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, whose district spans much of the Navajo Nation, said the message does not match daily life in northern Arizona.
“The message from the Oval Office has no credibility,” she said. “There’s not an ounce of empathy that comes out of that.”
Hatathlie represents Legislative District 6, which stretches across Coconino, Navajo, Apache and Mohave counties and includes large portions of the Navajo Nation. She said national economic claims can feel disconnected from conditions on the ground, especially in communities with limited access to basic services.
“There’s 27,000 square miles and only 13 grocery stores,” Hatathlie said of the Navajo Nation. “Half the time those grocery stores don’t sell fresh produce and the prices are very, very high.”
While Trump said grocery and rent prices are falling, Hatathlie said her constituents report the opposite.
“On average what we have seen is a 30% increase in living expenses,” she said, citing food, rent, taxes and utilities.
To read the full article, please see the Feb. 26, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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