Like his predecessors, Trump faces stiff political headwinds in next year’s midterm elections, which typically serve as a referendum on the party in power. Though Trump won the election in part due to his promise to bring prices down, inflation continues to bedevil the White House.
Democrats say Trump’s economy will be the prime focus during the 2026 midterms, when the party hopes to retake at least one chamber of Congress. The Republican-led Congress has helped Trump push through his policy agenda, and largely ignored his expansion of executive power which includes circumventing Congress’s power of the purse to cut federal programmes.
Trump’s global tariffs, which have largely fallen on US importers, have contributed to inflation, accordng to experts. Meanwhile, healthcare premiums are spiking just as food stamps are being interrupted for millions of Americans during the government shutdown.
“It’s not one economic hit, it’s a snowball of economic hits that people are feeling all at one time,” said Libby Schneider, deputy executive director of the Democratic National Committee.
“It’s a really important lesson that we have taken post-2024 and that other candidates have too, which is to really localise the economy and, unfortunately, Trump and Republicans have given us infinite opportunities to do that.”
