Trumps tariff craze has derailed the GOPs hopes to maintain their authority after the 2026 midterms

Heading into the midterms, the economy should have been President Trump’s and the GOP’s strong point, but it’s not thanks to the self-inflected injury of tariffs and the inflation it continues to stoke.Yes, the president was dealt a bad hand that in many ways he made better.Inflation is down from the insanity of the Biden years, thanks to the White House’s deregulation and tax cuts increasing the supply side of the economy.

That looks really good on paper, with strong growth and low unemployment.But prices have never gone down, and inflation — a pernicious tax on the working class — remains well above the target rate of 2%.So what gives? The Iran conflict’s impact on fuel prices doesn’t help but the last time I checked, gas prices on average are not that different than when Biden was throttling drilling; the weakened mullahs will ultimately provide a peace dividend that many Americans favor.The bigger, more obvious culprit, at least according to my GOP sources who work in businesses both small and large: the president’s obsession with those trade levies, a.k.a.tariffs.I know what you’re thinking: Trump imposed all these tariffs, Wall Street freaked, and the stock market rebounded and the economy boomed.

The AI build-out has enhanced productivity, while business investment has been jacked by Trump’s tax and regulation policies.Top line numbers of the economy show amazing resilience.Just last week, we got an awesome GDP reading growth of 3.4% in the last quarter.

Consumer spending isn’t dropping off the cliff.In many sectors, it’s getting stronger.But that hides the damage tariffs are doing to the average working-class voter who can’t speculate in the stock market to pay for stuff like putting food on the table.I hasten to make election predictions for the simple reason that voting trends tend to be among the most unpredictable of events these days.

(Otherwise, Bibi Netanyahu would be looking for a job instead of holding on to power aft...