The absence of the anticipated Republican “red wave” in the US midterm elections may be the moment when the party finally realizes that former President Donald Trump is an electoral liability. Enduring political success is built on a foundation of sound, effective policies that improve voters' lives and economic prospects.
WASHINGTON, DC – The Republican Party substantially underperformed in this year’s US midterm elections, with the candidates most closely associated with former President Donald Trump performing the worst. The absence of the anticipated “red wave” may be the moment when the party finally realizes that Trump is an electoral liability.
Trump’s economic policies weren’t a significant factor in the party’s poor performance. But they surely didn’t help, either. Trump’s brand of economic policy is faux populism, offering empty promises to the working class, as if anger and grievance were adequate substitutes for higher wages and better opportunities.
While he was president, Trump didn’t deliver for typical workers and households. His 2017 corporate tax cuts will put upward pressure on wages by incentivizing productivity-enhancing investment, but he counteracted the good from those cuts with his destructive, investment-reducing trade war. Moreover, the trade war reduced manufacturing employment – even that favored group of voters wasn’t helped.
WASHINGTON, DC – The Republican Party substantially underperformed in this year’s US midterm elections, with the candidates most closely associated with former President Donald Trump performing the worst. The absence of the anticipated “red wave” may be the moment when the party finally realizes that Trump is an electoral liability.
Trump’s economic policies weren’t a significant factor in the party’s poor performance. But they surely didn’t help, either. Trump’s brand of economic policy is faux populism, offering empty promises to the working class, as if anger and grievance were adequate substitutes for higher wages and better opportunities.
While he was president, Trump didn’t deliver for typical workers and households. His 2017 corporate tax cuts will put upward pressure on wages by incentivizing productivity-enhancing investment, but he counteracted the good from those cuts with his destructive, investment-reducing trade war. Moreover, the trade war reduced manufacturing employment – even that favored group of voters wasn’t helped.