President Donald Trump dismissed one of Americans’ biggest concerns as a Democratic “con job” during a feisty Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

“There’s this fake narrative that the Democrats talk about: ‘affordability,’” the president declared during a press briefing. “They just say the word. It doesn’t mean anything to anybody. They just say it,” he went on. “‘Affordability.’”

Griping about inflation rates during President Joe Biden’s administration, he said, “I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability,” while also calling the concept a “con job” and “scam” crafted by Democrats.

While Trump tried to claim worries about affordability were pure fiction, recent polls show rising prices have been top of mind for Americans.

Another batch of voters surveyed by Yahoo/YouGov in late November largely said they feel Trump has done more to raise prices (49%) than lower them (24%) since returning to office earlier this year.

According to Consumer Price Index data based on September prices, overall food costs increased by 3.1% year-over-year. Staples like meat, poultry, fish and eggs saw an even higher rise, jumping up 5.2% since the year prior. Non-grocery essentials showed similar trends, with electricity costs rising by 5.1% while housing increased 3.6% year-over-year.

While the president tried to brush aside economic concerns during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, he was eager to embrace the idea last month when he dubbed himself “the affordability president” in a Truth Social post.