A desperate GOP operative is sounding the alarm as Americans lose confidence in Donald Trump.
The president remains preoccupied with his war on Iran, which the Pentagon says has already cost $25 billion but which economists warn might end up costing the U.S. economy up to a trillion dollars. Fuel prices have been pushed higher by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit through which Gulf energy reaches world markets. The AAA reports that the price per gallon has jumped to $4.457.
“The warning signs are flashing,” an operative close to the White House told Politico on Sunday as Trump announced a desperate plan to pry the Strait open. But the operative suggested that the damage may have been done, and voters will remember this when they head to the polls for the midterm elections in November.
“For the first time ever, a majority of Americans do not have confidence in President Trump’s ability to handle the economy. Unless he and his team can reverse this reality, Republicans will pay dearly in November.”
The national average gas price has jumped, according to AAA. The current price is $1.28 higher than this time a year ago, a rise of 50 percent since the war began on February 28.
Polling reflects the dismay this has created with voters. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published over the weekend found that Trump’s disapproval rating is at an all-time high of 62 percent.
And with six months exactly until the midterm elections, it is the economy on which he polls most poorly. A staggering 76 percent disapprove of his handling of the cost-of-living crisis, which was already biting before he launched Operation Epic Fury.
The disapproval rating of the economy generally sits at 66 percent, the same number as those who disapprove of the situation in Iran. His overall approval now stands at just 37 percent.
The poll was conducted online between April 24 and 28 among 2,560 U.S. adults nationwide.
Messaging is now clearly an issue Trump’s team must fix before the election. He won the 2024 presidential election pledging to rein in prices after a burst of pandemic-related inflation under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The latest dire poll comes as multiple polls have shown that Americans are feeling severe financial strain. To compound this issue for the GOP, the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed that Democrats hold a 5-point lead over Republicans ahead of the midterms, up from the two-point lead the party held in February.
“The vibe right now is we know we are already cooked in the midterms,” a White House official told MS NOW over the weekend.
“As of this moment, of course, you have to be very concerned,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, Republican of New Jersey, added. “If you aren’t concerned, you’d be kind of foolish. … We are either going to win the majority by a little, lose the majority by a little, or lose it by a lot.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Daily Beast: “President Trump was resoundingly re-elected to the White House precisely because he understood how Americans were left behind by Joe Biden’s economic disaster, and restoring prosperity for everyday Americans has accordingly been a Day One priority for this Administration.”
“While the president has been clear about short term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, the administration is focused on the proven Trump agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance to keep America on a solid economic trajectory,” Desai added. “Once the Iranian terror threat is neutralized, Americans will again see gas prices plummet, real wages grow, inflation cool, and trillions in investments pour in.”
