Trump’s bid to make America cheap again has failed
Voters are increasingly linking rising energy prices to the administration’s policies.
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An October poll by Reuters and Ipsos found that 60% of Americans disapproved of US President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran, and 78% blamed the White House for higher prices.
PHOTO: PETE MAROVICH/ NYTIMES
Rana Foroohar
One of US President Donald Trump’s campaign promises in 2024 was cheaper energy. At an Economic Club of New York event in September that year, he promised to cut energy prices by half or more within 12 months of taking office. “Destroying inflation” by “unleashing American energy” production was at the core of the Republican platform that gave Trump a second term.
What a difference a war makes. Consumer price index data released last week shows that petrol prices jumped 9.1% in September, the highest rate since the war in Iran started. Given that petrol is the price most Americans see advertised at the roadside every day as they drive to work or home or school, that doesn’t bode well for conservative Republicans in the midterm elections a little over two weeks away.