Trump’s lack of focus on the economy scares Republicans in the 2026 election

Over a four-day period earlier this month, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account about his proposed triumphal arch, ballroom constructionThe iran warA ufc fight in the White House and Bruce Springsteen’s alleged plastic surgery.

He also posted (and later deleted) an AI-generated photo. as jesus himselfon the heels of one Screws aimed at Pope Leo XIVOf whom Trump said, “He should do his job as Pope, use common sense, stop pandering to the radical left, and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician.”

What has long been missing from the president’s social media presence, and more recently from his discourse, is the economy — an issue that carried Trump to the White House in 2016 and 2024.

“Trump’s basic deal with the American people was that ‘I’m a boor and kind of embarrassing, but I know how to run the economy.’ And they believe that because they remember the economy was good in 2016,” said mike murphyFormer anti-Trump Republican strategist and co-host of the “Hacks on Tap” podcast with David Axelrod.

Critics and concerned Republicans say Trump is not giving the economy enough priority with this year’s election just six months away, though he has attempted to do so. shift focus back Issues related to cost of living in the last week.

But even when Trump does raise the issue of the economy, his words often don’t reflect the reality that many Americans are feeling. They recently revealed the gas prices — which are 27% more than a year ago according to aaa — “There aren’t very many,” and he rated the potency as an A. “Democratic fraud.”

It is tone deafness that has led to flagged voting. Sixty percent of respondents to CNBC’s pan-America economic survey released Thursday for the first quarter of 2026 disapprove of his handling of the economy. The change reminds some political advisers of the missteps made by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election cycle.

Saying Inflation is “temporary” As Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen did in June 2021, it seems as if Trump officials were announcing that gas prices would go down “A few more weeks,” As they did during the Iran war, said Democratic strategist and former congressional aide Adam Bozzi.

Republicans hope to maintain narrow majorities in the House and Senate, but some worry the party could squander long-held GOP gains on the economy and repeat the mistakes Democrats made a cycle ago.

“They lost their franchise on the economy and the Democrats realized that was their weakness,” Murphy said.

Democratic campaigns flip the script on the economy

White House spokesman Kush Desai rejected the idea that Trump and Republicans have lost their grip on the economy.

“President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said. “Since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump has signed multiple executive orders on housing affordability, TrumpRx has added new tranches of discounted prescription drugs, and millions of Americans have received historic tax refund checks thanks to the President’s Working Families Tax Cut.” The Working Families Tax Cut Act of 2025 is the GOP tax and spending package commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

But Democrats see an opportunity and are seizing the opportunity to flip the script and use the economic message to their advantage in this year’s elections as Trump is distracted by election conspiracies, personal vendettas and foreign policy.

casey burgatThe program director for legislative affairs at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management said he’s seeing that change as Democrats take greater ownership of the economy.

“I think maybe the post-mortem (of the Democrats) showed that they were out of touch and they couldn’t explain how people were feeling at their kitchen table,” Burgett said. “But now the shoe is on the other foot because Trump now owns it. And what used to be his best attack on the (Biden) administration is now his biggest weakness.”

despite the pressureThe Democratic National Committee has not released its official autopsy for the 2024 election, in which Republicans swept the White House and took control of both houses of Congress. But there is some consensus on what went wrong.

“The perspective is always 2020, but I think we have a lot of evidence that shows the economy and the cost of living were uppermost in the minds of most voters, especially the dual haters of both candidates,” he said. trey eastonVice President of Public Policy at Searchlight Institute, A centrist Democratic think tank, and former aide to Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa.

economy out of focus

For Trump critics like Murphy, as Americans’ economic anger continues to grow — and Trump’s approval on the issue hits new lows — the president appears unable to focus on life-sustaining issues.

“The president, who is known to be an avid businessman, is prioritizing things elsewhere. I think that’s definitely going to be a problem for Republicans during the midterms,” ​​said Brittany Martinez, executive director of the Republican Party. principles first – an organization that positions itself as an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference – and a former aide to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

At an impromptu press conference to promote Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy, which was implemented as part of the 2025 tax and spending bill, a televised deliverywoman had to confront the president when he started talking about transgender men in women’s sports.

Some of these are “self-goals,” Nebraska Republican Representative Don Bacon, who has feuded with Trump over tariffs and is retiring at the end of this term, said in an interview. “Some are self-inflicted wounds that were unnecessary.”

And Democrats are pouncing on that whenever they can, especially as gas prices have soared since the Iran war.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement, “Americans cannot afford Trump’s America. By contrast, Democrats are focused on cutting costs and reining in political corruption, and our candidates are focused on the issues voters care about most.”

Democrats face their own electoral hurdles

Trump’s lack of focus has left Democrats optimistic, but the party has no problem heading into the midterms.

even as Trump’s approval tankRecent polling shows that Democrats are almost as unpopular like there republican alliesAnd CNBC’s latest survey released on Thursday Confirmed that sentiment.

But as Democrats look to rehabilitate a broken brand, congressional Republicans are moving toward the exit.

thirty eight members A majority of House GOP members have announced they will not seek re-election, compared to only 23 Democrats. Bacon said some of the departures may be related to an ominous feeling within the ranks. And he’s worried about the effects of pushing for domestic things like voter ID and choosing international allies.

“Some of those things, like the SAVE Act, speak a lot to the base, but the independent swing voters that we have in November, they’re not very interested in that,” Bacon said, referring to the voter-ID bill being pushed by Trump. “Threatening Canada, threatening Greenland. Going after NATO. I think a lot of people who voted for us see that and they’re not impressed.”

One Republican activist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said how voters feel about the GOP’s handling of the economy will depend on when and how the Iran war ends and gas prices go back down. He said Republicans are “hyper-conscious” of avoiding the same mistakes Democrats have made in the past, but he expressed cautious optimism.

“Maybe (the economy) is the one issue where we slipped a little bit … but the Democrats still haven’t overtaken us,” the operator said.

“Right now, we’re not really pushing the panic button on the campaign side. We’ll give it some time. There’s going to be a lot of news cycles from now until Election Day where I don’t think gas prices will be much of a concern anymore,” he said.

“hopefully.”