The 2024 presidential election ultimately came down to inflation.
In exit polls, Donald Trump won handily among voters who said inflation caused them severe (76%) or moderate (52%) hardship. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won those unaffected by inflation, 78% to Trump’s 21%. As former Daily Kos staff writer Kerry Eleveld once said, “The Democrats have become the party of people who don’t have to look at prices when grocery shopping.”
Trump leaned heavily on the inflation message. During his speech at the Republican National Convention, he said, “Under my plan, incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back, and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before and we’re going to do it very rapidly.” Never mind that there was never any plan.
He also said, “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1.”
Well, we’re nearly one month into Trump’s second presidency, and needless to say, prices haven’t gone down. In fact, as inflation ticked up in January, he pathetically tried to blame former President Joe Biden. Worse for him, people aren’t forgetting his Day 1 promises.
Last week, a poll by YouGov for CBS News found that 66% of Americans think Trump isn’t focusing enough on lowering prices. And it’s not a Democrat-leaning panel, either: 53% approve of the job he’s doing as president, while 47% disapprove.
It’s obvious Trump isn’t focusing on inflation. He apparently thinks he can blame Biden for a while before he finds some other excuse for rising prices. He’d rather screech about workplace diversity programs and Greenland and the Gulf of America than help the American public.
And when he touches on the economy? Everything he proposes is inflationary. Mass deportations? Inflationary. Tariffs? Inflationary. On Wednesday, he called for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, saying, “Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!! Lets Rock and Roll, America!!!”
You know why interest rates are raised? To lower inflation. By making it harder to borrow money, it reduces the supply of cash in the economy. More cash means more spending, which means higher prices. Less cash, lower prices. Trump is acting as if he wants to increase inflation.
Still, by stepping up deportations, firing scores of federal workers, and enacting job-destroying tariffs, perhaps he thinks driving up the unemployment rate to 10% will stabilize prices? Unemployed people can’t buy stuff, after all.
Either way, we’re destined to spend the next four years hearing Trump voters say, “We didn’t vote for that!” Except they did. It is exactly what they voted for.
The least they can do is admit their mistake and stop voting for Republicans to screw things up.
And it’s time for Democrats to really focus on Republicans as incompetent on the economy. Going back to the 1950s, 10 of the past 11 recessions began under Republican presidencies. Make that the single biggest talking point ever.
Because if Trump gets his way, it’s going to become 12 of the last 13.
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