US President Donald J. Trump Is In Trouble When It Comes to the Economy – Americans are paying more for gasoline, and their grocery bills have risen sharply over the past year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, goods were 3.7% more expensive in September than 12 months earlier.
Gasoline alone jumped 9.1% in the same period, with many voters blaming a president who campaigned largely on an economic platform two years ago.
Social Security Check. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Social Security Check. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
That said, is it all Donald Trump’s fault? It sure looks like it, but let’s take a closer look for a deeper perspective.
What is it Good For?
President Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran has undoubtedly raised costs for millions of American households.
Shortly after the U.S. and Israeli bombs first struck in February, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, trapping one-fifth of the world’s oil exports in the Persian Gulf.
The strait has remained closed ever since.
It was perhaps an unintended consequence that few saw coming. Actions, however, have consequences, and the six-week war that Trump promised will be in its ninth month when Americans vote in the midterm elections.
Of course, questions abound. Did the U.S. really need to go to war with Iran?
Is Tehran trying to influence the U.S. political environment by ramping up attacks on commercial shipping one month before the midterms?
Nobody knows the answer, but the result, however indirectly, is an America that is less affordable than it was before.
Tariff Wars
Before the country was engaged in a militaristic war, Washington fought economic battles worldwide by announcing new tariffs.
Trump has long been a proponent of tariffs.
After all, they can be a tool to encourage domestic consumption and, when weaponized, twist the ears of troublesome foreign leaders.
But they come at a cost, of which 90% has been passed onto American businesses and consumers, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released earlier this year.
Perception also plays a role of tariffs. Few, if any, Americans consider Canada an enemy, but since Mark Carney became prime minister, Washington and Ottawa have been engaged in a near-constant spat and an ongoing tariff war.
Even Republican candidates, including U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Rogers, have demanded an end to the dispute.
It Was Bad Before
It’s worth remembering one of the key reasons Trump beat then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
The Democrat had been second-in-command in an administration that had seen inflation rise to 9.1%.
Although conditions improved more than two years later, many American households felt worse off financially after four years under President Joe Biden.
Although he was Biden’s predecessor, Trump was not responsible for soaring inflation in mid-2022.
Inflation has returned to between 3% and 4% under Trump.
It’s still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, but inflation hasn’t risen to the heights it did under President Biden.
America’s housing market presents a similar difficulty.
Harvard University’s “State of the Nation’s Housing” assessment for 2026 describes persistent affordability pressures, record-high cost burdens on owners and renters, and a weak construction market as continuing strains on the U.S. housing market.
Solving these problems will take far longer than the 21 months Trump has been back at the White House.
Macroeconomics
While it may not feel that way when a driver fills up their tank at a record-high price, the U.S. economy shows no signs of struggle.
The headline figures are surprisingly positive.
The U.S. economy grew 2.2% in Q2 2026, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous estimate.
More people are employed under the Trump administration, with 170.26 million presently in the workforce.
Yet the president has an image problem, perhaps defined more by his key decisions than by economic realities.
A recent AP-NORC poll, for example, found that fewer people approved of Trump’s handling of the economy than they did under Biden.
Therein lies the problem for President Trump.
He is neither responsible nor at fault for all of America’s economic problems.
However, the key issues Americans notice, whether higher grocery bills or more expensive trips to the gas station, could have been avoided if Trump had not engaged in economic or militaristic conflicts.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
