LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump doesn’t know what hit him with an off-year election that saw California Gov. Gavin Newsom win Prop 50 redistricting practically guaranteeing that Republicans will lose control of the House next year. Whatever Trump says to tout his economy the Democrat and media narrative undermine’s his message. “We are the ones that have done a great on affordability, not the Democrats,” Trump said. “But we just lost an election, they said., based on affordability. Trump’s credibility has been eviscerated by Democats and the press to the point that everything he says is discredited as a lie. Watching 46-year-old Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger become Virgina’s first female governor and 53-year-old New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill become governor was a slap in Trump’s face, not a trend Trump anticipated only a year out from the 2026 Midterm election.
Watching self-declared Democrat socialist 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani win New York City Mayor by a big margins from 67-year-old former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and 71-year-old Republican Curtis Sliwa, all have one thing in common: A young generation of leaders have finally come to power. Trump can tout his handling of the economy but the reality is all in the Democrat and press narrative, citing poll-after-poll showing that voters think the country is heading in the wrong direction. Mamdani’s ascent as a Democrat socialist to the top of New York City politics is a affront to Trump and everything he stands for. Zohran’s message of economic populism comes right out of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) playboon, mirroring the same economic populism as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) whose message has finally caught on.
How ironic that ever-petulant and feisty Trump has been superseded by youthful voters not so much tied to the Democrat Party but far more independently-minded in their perspective, worried about their economic future. Mamdani talks of making New York more affordable but the real message is the multiethnic you emerging in today’s America seeks to assert a new dominance in American politics. Mandani appealed to the youth struggling to make ends meet in New York’s frenzied atmosphere. When it came to Prop 50’s gerrymandering bill passing in Democrat dominated Calforina, it should have come as no surprise on anyone. Republicans or their cause don’t have prayers in California, largely due to Trump’s intolerable deportation policies. Trump has managed to turn Latinos against him to implementing a brutal crackdown on the Latino community.
When it comes to the government shutdown, Tuesday’s off-year election showed that voters blame Republicans, whether it’s factual or not. Republicans led by 53-year-old House Speaker Mike Johnson claim that Democrats refused his offer to end the shutdown with a clean continuing budget resolution, the typical way the government is kept open. But this time around, Democrats were desperate after the 2024 election, to assert themselves against Republican power, something that’s gotten out of hand. So, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who stands to become speaker next year, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called out the GOP for gutting Medicaid and Obamacare in Trump’s July 1 Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats realized it they didn’t take a stand with Republicans millions of Americans would suffer losing their health care.
Trump is too ideologically fixated on last year’s presidential election to comprehend today’s problems that are sweeping the country, in part due to his tariff policy. Whatever Trump said about lowering prices, he’s done a good job with energy but that about it. Tariffs are a tax given to consumers and paid by consumers in the way of higher prices while the government rakes in more cash from foreign companies. Trump went overboard with his tariff policy, causing skyrocketing prices especially for beef and pharmaceuticals. Lowering the price of obesity drugs does little to fix the exorbitant prices of U.S. drugs, something more related to publicly traded companies than consumer protections. Growing number of consumers think that Trump’s tariff policies make a bad situation worse. So, Trump can tout his lower prices but the public no longer believes him
No one knows where today’s economy is heading, maybe toward recession if you pay attention to the Federal Reserve Board. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was reluctant to cut rates for two year because of fears of renewed inflation. With companies, like Amazon and Microsoft laying off about 30,000 workers, the Fed has begun to infuse monetary stimulus into the economy. Trump won’t admit that Wall Street could start crashing at any time, a sure sign that recession is on the horizon. However biased certain polls, they all blame Trump for mismanaging the economy to the point the economy teeters on recession. Americans consumers, especially now under shutdown conditions, are struggling to make ends meet. When it comes to the public’s perception, it’s clear they now blame Trump for bad economic decisions. No matter what Trump says about affordability, the public has lost confidence.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
