Trump ignoring 'economic misery' of Americans may sink his second term: analysis

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the McDonald's Impact Summit at the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

President Donald Trump and his agenda suffered a bruising rebuke in the 2025 elections, and a new analysis of the situation from The Guardian suggests that he only has himself to blame.

Despite being an off-year slate of elections, the recent races in Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia, and New York City received an outsized spotlight as voters took to the polls to express their disapproval of President Donald Trump's administration. Across the board, Democrats who campaigned on affordability won races by significant margins, signaling voter discontent with Trump’s handling of economic issues.

In a Tuesday article, The Guardian’s Eduardo Porter noted that Trump campaigned to victory in 2024 on two issues: the cost of living and racial grievances, with the latter being expressed through pledges of mass deportations, removing “critical race theory” from schools and targeting diverse initiatives across the government and in the private sector.

However, Porter argued that since Trump's returning to the White House, the president has all but completely dropped efforts to tackle high prices of daily necessities. Instead, he has ramped up immigrations raids and ICE enforcement to historic levels, putting a particular focus on Democrat-led cities with diverse populations. As for the economy, Porter highlighted various Trump policies that have actively made matters worse for many Americans.

“Trump seems not only to have forgotten his promises on the economy, he also appears to enjoy stoking Americans’ economic anxieties,” Porter explained. “His array of tariffs against friend and foe has slowed the economy, stalling employment growth while it raises the prices of key necessities. His decision to end subsidies for health insurance plans under Obamacare will drastically raise premiums for millions of Americans. And there is probably no better strategy than ending [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] food assistance payments — as he did during the government shutdown — to deepen the economic misery of the poor.”

The continued economic strain has caused voter outrage against Trump to spread further than just the typical left-wing opposition. In the recent elections, Democrats notched notable victories in deep-red states, including Mississippi and Georgia. Voter demographic data also shows a major shift away from Republican candidates by groups the swung for Trump in 2024, including young men and Latinos.

“It seems evident today that stoking Americans’ racial grievances will not be enough for Trump to cling to power,” Porter concluded. “He had to deliver on the economy too. And he hasn’t.”

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