Trump promised cheap gas and no new wars. Thanks, MAGA!
Trump promised cheap gas and no new wars, then delivered expensive gas and a war. Some of his voters have noticed.
The New York Times talked to Trump voters in several battleground states as they filled up their cars. Some still back him. Some think the war is necessary. Others are beginning to sound like people who bought the “businessman” routine and got an invoice with missiles on it.
But since the president took America to war with Iran, gasoline prices have climbed to their highest levels in four years. Mr. Trump has said he is negotiating a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil shipping, and the average price of gas has decreased slightly to $4.34 a gallon as of Sunday. But it is still more than a dollar higher than this time last year.
Are his voters angry? More than two-thirds say they approve of his handling of the war and about six in 10 support his handling of the cost of living, according to the latest New York Times/Siena poll.
But with the November midterm elections five months away, many Americans who backed Mr. Trump in 2024 are wrestling with pain at the pump and contemplating if it should weigh into their decisions in the fall. A fifth of Trump voters say the war is not worth the cost, and a third are unsure, the poll found.
One Michigan voter told the Times that filling up “hurts.” A Cincinnati voter said the second Trump term did not give him “the greatest feeling.” Another former supporter said Trump’s first administration was great, but now the war and gas prices are making things feel very different.
That is the problem with running on grocery bills, gas prices, and magical foreign-policy toughness. Eventually, the receipt comes out of the pump.