Trump economic policies expose his 'MAGA populist' claim as an 'elaborate charade': insider

During his 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that he was the election's real economic populist — not Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Trump vigorously attacked the Biden Administration on inflation, vowing to bring down prices if he returned to the White House. And that messaging worked: Trump narrowly defeated Harris and won the national popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent.

But in a scathing opinion column published on July 11, Sidney Blumenthal — once a senior adviser to former President Bill Clinton — attacks Trump's "big, beautiful bill" (which he signed into law over the 4th of July Weekend) as a total betrayal of his 2024 campaign promises.

"Donald Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful bill,' which will eviscerate the living standards, healthcare and aspirations of his white, working-class base, conclusively draws the curtain down on his MAGA populist conceit — the most elaborate charade in recent American political history," Blumenthal warns. "The price will be staggering: $1tn in cuts to Medicaid; throwing 17 million people off health coverage closing rural hospitals and women's health clinics; battering food assistance for families, children and veterans; the virtual destruction of U.S. solar and wind energy manufacturing; limiting access to financial aid for college; and, according to the Yale Budget Lab, adding $3tn to the national debt over the next decade, inexorably leading to raised interest rates, which will depress the housing market."

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Blumental adds, "These are the harsh, brutal and undeniable realities of Trumpism in the glare of day as opposed to his carnival act about how he will never touch such benefits."

The former Bill Clinton adviser argues that although Trump "lies constantly," he "has never concealed his intentions."

"The wrong question is: whom has Trump betrayed?," Blumental argues. "The right question is: whom hasn't he betrayed?.... His MAGA devotees may love him for the objects of his hatefulness. They don't register that someone whose nature is to betray everyone will surely betray them."

Blumental adds, "They may not even grasp that their betrayal has already happened."

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Read Sidney Blumenthal's full column for The Guardian at this link.