Point to where the bad man hurt you
Beltway press members continue to relive their WHCD trauma from Saturday night. Over and over again. They obsess over details that don’t matter, a reader laments, while Trump’s Iran war grinds on virtually wiped from the front pages and with the Epstein files a memory. Outside the Beltway, ordinary Americans are processing grinding trauma of another kind.
Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey this morning reports that Americans instead obsess over the cost of living. The survey finds that 55% cite recent price increases which make it harder to maintain their standard of living:
Less than half continue to rate their financial situation as “excellent” or “good” (currently 46%), and more than a third call it “only fair” (35%). Relatively few say their situation is “poor” (19%).
The recent dip in people’s confidence about their finances contrasts with 2016 through 2021, when half or more typically rated their finances positively. Today’s readings are more in line with 2008-2015, although not quite as negative as the ones during and immediately after the Great Recession from 2009 to 2011, when about four in 10 were positive.
These sorts of numbers make Republicans’ prospects for November look even bleaker.
Americans’ financial outlook in 2026 is also historically poor, with a record 55% now saying their financial situation is getting worse. While similar to last year’s 53%, this is up from 47% in 2024 and marks the fifth consecutive year more Americans say their finances are worsening rather than improving.
The only similar multiyear period when the larger share felt their financial situation was worsening was during the Great Recession.
We know how badly the 2010 midterms went for Democrats. Republicans are looking at the same. That is, assuming Democrats don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
For anecdotal evidence that MAGA Joe (with anger management issues) is feeling acute economic pain, review Sign Guy’s recent close encounters with men driven ape-shit by cost reminders.
Axios adds:
Reality check: Inflation is still elevated from where it was the last time Trump was in office, but it’s certainly lower than at its peak in 2022.
The big picture: Still, the recent surge in gas prices has increased the pressure on American pocketbooks.
- The average price of a gallon of gas is $4.11, says AAA. It was under $3 before the war started on Feb. 28.
- Many Americans blame Trump for the increase.
There is a divide between the activist left and the Democratic establishment visible in the kinds of signs spotted at No Kings rallies. The signs are all about democracy, ICE, Trump, and the Iran war. The Democratic establishment wants to run on “kitchen table” issues. Somehow the party needs to keep activists engaged while campaigning on economic issues that ordinary voters vote on. Normies may care about those other things, but it’s issues closer to the grocery store and gas pump that drive them to the polls more than what’s happening in distant Iran or Minneapolis. Feeling poorer is pretty immediate.
Republicans will stoke fear like it’s going out of style, of course. The last thing they want is to draw attention to an economy the Trump Gang torpedoed like an Iranian frigate.
Elections are about whom you trust to have your back, about the answer to “Is this person on the ballot like me?” Voters need to feel Democrats have their backs more than Trump and his billionaire friends. Stay out of the sandbox. First make sure voters feel seen.
(h/t SD)