April 17, 2026, 6:09 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump drew chortles of disbelief from fellow New York City natives when he interrupted himself to ponder the meaning of the phrase “corner store” in his own remarks during a roundtable about taxes.
Speaking April 16 in Las Vegas, Trump paused over written remarks about benefits of the federal tax and spending law. The bill, the Republican president said, would slash taxes on American small businesses, including restaurants, dry cleaners and corner stores.
“What is a corner store?” Trump said. “I’ve never heard that term. I know what a corner store is, but I’ve never heard it described a corner store.”
He then added, “Who the hell wrote that please?”
The 79-year-old grew up in Queens and lived most of his adult life in Manhattan. New York City’s iconic corner stores, also known as bodegas or delis, are prevalent in both boroughs.
“‘Born and raised’ New Yorker doesn’t know what a corner store is,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, a 75-year-old Brooklyn native, said in an X post. “A true fraud in every sense of the word.”
In response to emailed questions, the White House dismissed Schumer’s comments.
“Chuck Schumer has spent his entire career hiking costs, raising taxes, and making the great state of New York worse,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement. “There is a reason why cryin’ Chuck is the most hated elected politician in New York.”
The explanation for Trump’s unusual unfamiliarity may stem in part from his atypical life experience.
The second-generation real estate mogul, grew up in the posh, suburban Queens neighborhood of Jamaica Estates. His family lived in a a six-bedroom Tudor-style home, and later a 23-room mansion. After attending boarding school in upstate New York and later the University of Pennsylvania, he lived on the Upper East Side, an elite neighborhood in Manhattan, before settling in Midtown Manhattan. He’s now a registered Florida resident, spending time at his sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump has faced previously criticism for appearing out of touch with regular Americans. Trump in April 2025 called “groceries” an old-fashioned term. In December, he said “affordability” was a “con job” by Democrats.
In an August Wall Street Journal op-ed, GOP strategist Karl Rove warned Trump could make the same mistake that former President Joe Biden made by talking about successes of the economy when people continue to struggle with costs, which is in part how Trump won in the 2024 presidential election.
In Trump’s hometown, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won in 2025 in an upset to become mayor, largely by campaigning to lower New Yorkers’ cost of living. Mamdani has promised to help small businesses, including delis and bodegas, by cutting fines and fees. In April, he appointed a “mom-and-pop czar” to support neighborhood establishments.
Since Mamdani’s election, he and Trump have formed an unlikely bond, in part on addressing costs in the city.
The same day as his corner store comments, Trump lashed out on social media, saying Mamdani was “DESTROYING” New York by backing the state’s proposed tax on ultra-expensive second homes. On April 17, Mamdani responded that he and the president both want the city to succeed.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
