Working hard, raising a family, buying a house and then living comfortably - this is becoming increasingly difficult for many Americans. Donald Trump's trade tariffs have sent prices spiraling, as has the war against Iran.
"Many people blame President Trump personally for high fuel prices, unjustified wars, inflation and high national debt," union activist Joe Losier told ARD. That is why the US midterm elections next month will probably become a verdict for the president, he added.
Trump shifts the blame to others
But Trump and his government are not known for taking responsibility when something goes wrong, the German publication commented. Although it has been almost two years since his election victory, Trump is still trying to shift the blame for everything to his predecessor, Joe Biden. Even Barack Obama, who left the White House almost a decade ago, regularly serves as a scapegoat.
Biden and Obama led the country to such a catastrophe that there was no way everything could be fixed in just two years, Trump claims. At campaign events, he said that inflation under Biden was a record in the country's history, while currently it is only 1.7-1.8 percent. Both statements are false, and the truth does not speak in Trump's favor: on the last day of Biden's term, inflation was 3.0 percent, and now it is 3.7 percent, ARD points out.
Before Trump, the economy was doing well
Currently, all sociological surveys show that approval for President Trump and his administration is at a record low. Moreover, at the time of Trump's inauguration, the American economy was in good shape. It recovered from the Covid pandemic period faster than a number of other Western economies.
A few days before the 2024 presidential election, the conservative “Wall Street Journal“ wrote that the next president would inherit a stable economy, and the recent economic growth would give a “tail wind“ to the next occupant of the White House. Trump could have simply let things go the same way and after six months brazenly announced that his policies had borne abundant fruit. Hardly anyone would have refuted him.
Instead, he took two steps that worsened conditions for the American economy and caused a surge in prices for consumers: in April 2025, he imposed tariffs on virtually the entire rest of the world. And in February of this year, together with Israel, he launched an offensive war against Iran. This also led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, thus triggering a global energy crisis, the German public media recalls.
The development of artificial intelligence is giving the economy a boost
Nevertheless, the US economy continues to perform quite well. After inflation is deducted, the data for the second quarter is encouraging - annual growth could reach 2.2 percent. Anything that has even the slightest connection to the development of artificial intelligence and the construction of data centers is giving a powerful boost to growth. As is the fact that high-income earners who benefit from Trump's tax cuts continue to consume enthusiastically. But other sectors of the economy are declining.
Fuel prices as a guide
At gas stations, the price of a gallon of regular gasoline is currently around $4.30 (just over 1 euro per liter) on average across the country, while the day before the war with Iran began, a gallon cost just $2.98. Diesel fuel is even more expensive: a year ago, a gallon of diesel cost around $3.63, and now it is around $6.32.
Expensive fuels always lead to further price increases, for example, for food products. But for Americans, the price of gasoline also has great symbolic meaning: better than any other indicator, it tells them how well or poorly they are currently living. That is why Trump has lost the trust of the majority of American citizens in the area of economic policy, ARD also points out.
Republicans have a problem
Trump had promised consumers a reduction in prices - instead, however, he caused a new increase. And this at a time when Americans had just overcome the high levels of inflation during the Covid pandemic.
That is why in the midterm elections, Trump and his Republicans face a dilemma: overall, the economy is not doing badly, but for many people things just don't look the same. And this could prove decisive for the election.