This really shouldn’t surprise anyone. Already nervous about 2026 Republicans are engaged in an effort to gerrymander a continued majority in the House. In the Senate the GOP in theory should keep control, at least with Vance as a tie breaker. However they too are getting nervous. It’s not about Epstein either although that’s a ticking time-bomb. No, what they are worried about is the economy. And the fact they ALL voted to give Trump exactly what he wanted when they passed his ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ It was unpopular before it passed, and has only gotten more so since. Even TRUMP is trying to rebrand it. Now the realization has set in that although they made Trump happy, their voters are not.
Trump got back into office in large measure because of inflation. It had come down substantially and was trending to go lower. It just wasn’t happening fast enough and as history teaches us what economists (and Presidents) say about the economy being solid actual people who live paycheck to paycheck, and buy gas, groceries and other things like clothes and (it’s that time of year) school supplies struggle. They don’t want to hear from experts on TV or politicians in power about how the economy is strong or about to get that way, while pointing to stock market indexes and other stuff. They want to know when the hell the ‘good times’ the upper middle class and above will FINALLY reach them. It never seems to in recent decades.
So what we had was an economy wrecked by Covid that shouldn’t have been damaged as badly as it was. The Biden administration came in and fixed much of the damage, and as I said even inflation was steadily coming down. However Republicans are masters at stoking anger AND misdirecting it away from themselves. Now however they can’t blame Biden. Worse, as I noted there’s the fact the BBB was unpopular with voters (even MAGAs) even before it passed. Even worse than THAT it was done this summer and by next summer the trouble that’s already showing up is only going to get worse.
If you’ve been paying attention Republicans who dare to make public appearances at home, especially at Town Halls are catching hell. They don’t even try anymore to claim it’s ‘Democrat agitators’ – the people in attendance know each other and I suspect in angry emails and phone calls they’ve complained about the bullshit Representative Malarkey shoveled at them. And reminded them of donations they’ve made, or the business they own.
That’s why articles like this one from Alternet are worth you time. Yes, it’s a bit of a detailed read but it’s important to keep up with this. You never know who you might find yourself talking with in person or on social media. This is the type of material that allows you to make a point without putting them on the defensive. For example pointing out how many voters from both Parties objected to the Medicaid cuts in the BBB. But because Trump demanded it GOPers in Congress went along even as they expressed their own concerns.
Now, as the headline of the linked article say the red signs are flashing. I’d say Republicans have good reason to fear. Trumpty has them trapped. If they start trashing the bill he bullied them into voting for to try and save their own butt in 2026 Trump will have them primaried. That means for several more months they have to keep their lips firmly attached to Trumpty fat orange ass. That support, or even just ‘going quiet’ will park in the minds of voters. With good candidates and a solid, simple message about a solid and understandable plan Democrats can and will retake the House. Possibly even the Senate. Again I urge you to read the linked article for yourself but it cites reporting from another outlet (Axios) I’ll mention here:
Axios’ Zachary Basu reports President Donald Trump’s effort to “rebrand the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act can’t mask a grim reality: His economic approval is collapsing, and the data underneath is only getting worse.”
“Trump is in danger of getting trapped in the same ‘vibecession’ dynamic that doomed President [Joe] Biden — only this time, the structural signals are flashing red and Trump’s signature legislation is toxic,” he wrote.
According to the outlet, Republicans are already panicking, fearing “inflation could cost them dearly in the 2026 midterms, warning Trump has only a few months to reset his trajectory on voters’ most important issue.”
I’d like to add something the linked article didn’t. The Epstein factor. MAGA’s fury with Trump hasn’t ebbed. At least not anywhere near the way Trump and GOP leaders in Congress had hoped. That MAGA actually no longer blindly accepts whatever Trump tells them is I think a bigger deal than we realize. Oh, they are still PLENTY devoted and gullible. Still, with flat or worsening jobs numbers, paychecks that aren’t growing to cover costs that have gone back UP instead of coming down and other factors Trump is going to face the same problem Obama and then Biden did. An economy that for the average voter isn’t nearly as good for them personally as the experts claim.
Trump’s and the GOP’s problems are worse. Unlike with Obama and Biden where on the broad scale the economy was on a solid foundation that’s not the case now. Trump has torn up the old order and it’s already a mess that’s getting worse with each passing month. The linked article says GOPers on The Hill think Trump’s only got a few months to turn things around by shifting policy. Personally I think it’s already too late.
You can’t turn something as big as the U.S. economy around on a dime any more than you can stop a giant oil tanker or aircraft carrier in a few hundred or so yards. Most people are stunned to learn it takes MILES to bring those kinds of ships from normal cruising speed to a crash stop. In the same vein, making a significant course change takes a lot more and and ‘room’ than people realize. Just as carriers and tankers can’t change course like a jet ski, neither can our economy.
Bluntly put between the tariffs and the BBB the Trump 2.0 economy is what the GOP will have to run on in 2026. They know it and that’s why it’s increasingly clear they are scared as hell. They should be. However OUR side has to do more, much more than simply blame Trump. We have to craft a plan that will get results AND makes sense to voters. We have to be able to explain it in terms that will get through. That’s something Democrats have sucked at. So remind our leaders of K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid because the cold fact is that even voters smart enough to understand sophisticated discussion don’t have the time or inclination anymore. Joe Biden understood this. Democrats would do well to remember his example
“You can’t turn something as big as the U.S. economy around on a dime any more than you can stop a giant oil tanker or aircraft carrier in a few hundred or so yards.”
I’ve compared turning around the economy to aircraft and ocean liners in conversations in the past. Indeed, the iceberg that took out the Titanic was a half-hour away when it was first spotted, and the ship still couldn’t avoid impact!
Thank you!
Just what has happened to the ‘price of eggs’?
It’s gone up, like all the other prices.
Just like before.
“Trump has torn up the old order”…not just with the economy, but with the law, foreign affairs, national security, healthcare, and so on. The foundations on which the U.S. was built are rapidly eroding. I try to be optimistic, but the survival of our nation is very much in doubt.