President Donald Trump, in Miami, brags about the economy despite an election-night rebuke

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MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump took a victory lap on the economy on the one-year anniversary of his successful election, boasting of cheaper prices and saying the U.S. is the envy of the globe even while the Republican Party faced a rebuke from voters anxious about their own finances in Tuesday's off-year elections.

Trump, speaking Wednesday at the America Business Forum, said he thinks that communication was the problem, insisting that “we have the greatest economy right now” and that “a lot of people don't see that.”

“These are the things you have to talk about,” Trump told a packed arena at Miami's Kaseya Center that included top business executives, global athletes and political leaders. “If people don't talk about them, then you can do not so well in elections.”

It marked a significant effort from Trump to put a positive spin on the economy at a time when Americans remain uneasy about the cost of living and their own financial security — and when major campaigns in Tuesday's elections — from New York to Virginia — were centered on affordability and the economy.

Trump's comments echoed sentiments from his predecessor, Joe Biden, whose White House insisted that the Democrat's political standing would improve if they better communicated his economic accomplishments.

Trump speech often deviated from the topic at hand, and included a call for South Africa to leave the Group of 20. But he made sure to underscore what he saw as his economic successes.

On digital assets, Trump said that “crypto was under siege; it's not under siege anymore.” He pointed to declines in egg and gas prices, and the interest rate, despite the “nincompoop” at the Federal Reserve, a reference to Fed chairman Jerome Powell. Trump referred to his pledge to dissolve 10 existing regulations for every new one he issues, and said “so far for nine months, we're exceeding that.”

Despite Trump’s promises to tame inflation and unleash growth, the AP Voter Poll survey, which included more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City, suggested the public was troubled by higher prices and fewer job opportunities. Republicans handily lost key races in Virginia and New Jersey, and the president acknowledged Wednesday that the ongoing government shutdown, with effects rippling through the economy, was “negative for the Republicans."

He also touched on how his trips abroad are benefiting the U.S. Trump spent five days in Asia last week with stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. He worked to ease trade tensions with Beijing in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In Tokyo, he promoted several major energy and tech projects for the U.S. that will be funded by Japan.

Miami's Republican Mayor Francis Suarez said he thinks Trump’s recent travels “have been transformational in his presidency” and cast his speech as a highlight of the forum, which organizers have described as a more accessible version of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, or the Milken Institute Global Conference, which gathers the world’s elite for discussions on the economy.

Political leaders, business executives and athletes including tennis legend Serena Williams and soccer star Lionel Messi are among the speakers at the forum inside Kaseya Center, the home of the NBA's Miami Heat that had been transformed with an elaborate, futuristic stage where speakers are introduced with a light display and machines shooting smoke into the air.

It's primarily sponsored by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, which is a key pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to pursue megaprojects and investments abroad.

“This conference not only is creating this incredible collection of people, but it’s also creating them in a particular moment in time,” Suarez said in an interview.

Earlier Wednesday, the conference hosted María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize who praised the U.S. president's posture toward Venezuela in her remarks.

“Regarding the strategy of President Trump toward this criminal narco-terrorist structure, it's absolutely correct because Nicolás Maduro is not a legitimate head of state,” said Machado, who appeared at the forum remotely.

Trump's visit also highlights how the Miami area is playing a key role during his second term.

Trump is set to host leaders of the world's leading rich and developing economies at next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club at the nearby city of Doral, despite what critics say is the appearance of impropriety.

Trump’s sons have taken over running the Trump Organization while their father is in the White House, and the president has insisted that his family’s business will not make any money by holding the summit at the golf club.

The city is where Trump wants to locate his future presidential library, which is now facing a legal challenge over whether the plot of land in downtown Miami is being properly transferred. During his speech, Suarez gave him a ceremonial gold key for the project.

Miami is also one of the U.S. host cities for next year’s World Cup, which Trump has eagerly promoted as the kickoff to several major global sporting events for which the U.S. is playing host. Ensuring the success of the World Cup has been a top priority for the Trump administration.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, with whom Trump has developed a close friendship, was scheduled to speak at the Miami forum later Wednesday.

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This story has been corrected to show the name of the event is the America Business Forum, not the American Business Forum.