The more President Donald Trump stumbles while trying to talk about affordability ¡ª last week¡¯s bizarre speech was just the latest example ¡ª the more Democrats believe they have a winning issue in next year¡¯s midterm elections. And why not? Trump¡¯s approval rating on the economy is the lowest it has ever been and a string of polls show many Americans are angry and worried about stubbornly high prices for groceries, housing and utilities.
But there are risks associated with adopting a platform of ¡°pure economic rage,¡± as veteran strategist James Carville advised the Democratic Party to do last month. While there has long been a strain of populism on the left ¡ª just look at 84-year-old U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and his years of lectures about the 1% ¡ª there are signs it is spreading nevertheless and could be truly ascendent in 2026.
Solid majorities of Americans increasingly believe that the wealthy have too much influence in politics and government and unfairly benefit from a broken economic system. A wide-ranging Harris poll found that 66% of Americans blame billionaires for their affordability woes and 55% said billionaires made it harder for them personally to achieve the American dream.
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