President Donald Trump's unending crisis is turning into "the most potent job-killer in the country," according to a new analysis from The Hill, which still seemingly is not enough to prompt pushback from the "spineless MAGA gophers" in Congress who have the power to stop it.
Max Burns is a longtime Democratic strategist and frequent contributor to The Hill. In his latest piece from Thursday, he laid out the ways in which Trump's war with Iran is not just bankrupting troubled airlines, but the entire country as well, as personal debt soars and consumer confidence plummets.
"The economic uncertainty wrought by Trump’s war is now the most potent job-killer in the country," Burns explained. "Indeed, the Iran War may well be remembered for little else besides the rolling job losses and financial hardship it inflicted on working-class Americans who were already grappling with rising consumer prices.
He continued: "Bank of America reports that credit card spending has surged roughly 4.3 percent in March, the most in more than three years, as consumers pile on debt to pay for basic necessities like gasoline. Unsurprisingly, consumer confidence has collapsed to the lowest level ever recorded as most Americans prepare for the worst."
Beyond the pain inflicted on personal finances, Burns noted how extreme the cost of the war is becoming for taxpayers, at a time when the administration has also ruthlessly slashed life-saving services and funding. The total cost of the conflict has reportedly reached roughly $72 billion, with the Pentagon supposedly set to request $80-100 billion in further funding from Congress. This is all comes not long after healthcare subsidies were cut for 22 million Americans, sending their premiums through the roof.
So far, Burns continued, most of Trump's loyal Republican followers in Congress have opted not to push back, but these worsening circumstances might finally break the dam.
"At some point, enough has to be enough, even for the spineless MAGA gophers currently clogging up the Congress," Burns added. "It appears at least a few Republicans are beginning to realize how economically (and politically) disastrous Trump’s war is shaping up to be. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) recently pushed for a War Powers Act vote in the Senate in the Senate; her moment of courage was dampened by Republican leader John Thune flatly ignoring the request.
He continued: "That hasn’t stopped Murkowski from building support for the vote from Republicans including Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)(R-Mo.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Curtis (R-Utah) and Todd Young (R-Ind.)... How many times will Trump’s enablers allow themselves to look like fools in order to avoid acknowledging that this war is a rolling economic disaster? How many times will they force the American people to pay the cost of Trump’s ruinous impulses and erratic schemes?"