Most Americans believe that customs tariffs and the war in Iran exacerbate the cost of living. Republicans have almost unanimously voted for these policies, while Democrats have placed them at the center of their campaign.
Among all the dangers threatening the Republican Party this year, the most serious could be the unusually direct connection voters make between their economic grievances and the policies promoted by President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress.
Presidents usually suffer when Americans are dissatisfied with the economy. This year, however, Trump is facing an additional vulnerability. A large majority of voters consistently say in polls that his policies, especially those regarding customs tariffs and the war in Iran, exacerbate the problem that concerns them the most: the high cost of living.
“It’s not just about the basic economy or a bad cycle,” says former Republican deputy Tom Davis, who led the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Because of tariffs and the effect of the war on fuel prices, he says, “there are two concrete presidential actions” that most voters believe affect their standard of living.
For the Republicans in Congress, the situation is even more difficult, as Republican deputies and senators have repeatedly voted, almost unanimously, for Trump’s policies on Iran and war, as well as federal spending cuts for health, which Democrats argue have contributed to the rising cost of medical care. Essentially, at a time when most Americans believe that Trump’s agenda deepens their financial difficulties, Republicans in Congress have also left their fingerprints at the scene of the crime.
In the final weeks of the campaign, consolidating this link in the minds of voters has become the central theme of the Democrats’ messages. A new CNN analysis of AdImpact data shows that Democrats are spending large amounts on advertisements targeting Trump’s policies on tariffs, war, and Medicaid spending, which almost all Republicans in Congress have voted for.
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