What was relatively new in voters’ palpable rage was the belief that a select few were getting rich off of the American people.
Indeed, you can’t spell “midterm a**-whooping” without Iran; but the seeds of the GOP’s decimation were planted long before the United States struck Iran.
First: Tariffs. Sixty-five percent of voters believe that tariffs were hurting the national economy, according to an NBC News exit poll. Only 27 percent of respondents believed that Trump’s policies were making the economy worse, the same poll said. JD Vance touted the national benefits of tariffs all throughout the cycle, reminding voters ad nauseam that tariffs are a necessary tool because “America is not an economic zone.” And while that tickles the ears of much of the New Right, voters saw no economic benefits for themselves with the high trade barriers.
It wasn’t just the economy. Trump lost the trust of voters on the signature issue that helped him return to the White House: immigration. After almost two years of heavy-handed public displays of internal immigration enforcement, 57 percent of voters said his immigration policies went “too far.” Coupled with a poor economy, the Hispanic vote that Trump won in 2024 flipped back to the Democrats — in droves.
It’s no surprise that immigration and the economy were top of mind for voters; both issues doomed Kamala Harris’s presidential bid in 2024 after her boss let in millions of unvetted migrants and oversaw the highest inflation in decades. What was relatively new in voters’ palpable rage was the belief that a select few — even the president and his family — were getting rich off of the American people.
A few weeks ago, I referenced a Fox News poll showing that 88 percent of American voters are extremely/very concerned about corruption in government. Ninety percent of voters said corruption was a crucial or major factor in deciding their vote, according to NBC News’ exit polling from last night. When the president’s net worth increases by 2 billion dollars in two years while real wage growth remains stagnant, voters notice. Democrats are poised to seize on the abundant examples of blatant displays of corruption, but might not be able to help themselves from overplaying their cards and resorting to rank lawfare in the process.
Unpopular tariffs as the defining policy of a lackluster economy saddled by high prices, overzealous immigration enforcement, and the view that corruption is running rampant — coupled with an incredibly unpopular war in Iran that makes everything worse for Trump and the GOP — created the perfect storm that was last night and wiped out the GOP everywhere.