Trump may become the face of a deteriorating economy, a year after his victory, due to these concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has received a solemn warning from voters that he is out of touch with their concerns about the deteriorating American economy.

Democrats cruised to victory in key races across the country on Tuesday by harnessing some of the same populist enthusiasm that helped reelect Trump a year ago — but also by focusing on kitchen table issues that the Republican has pledged to fix. Now, as the incumbent president, concerns about the economy have made Trump the face of much popular discontent.

“We learned a lot.” Trump admitted on Wednesday. “Affordability is our goal,” he later posted online.

Vice President J.D. Vance took a similar tone, posting on

This came after voters in the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, the New York City mayoral contest and a California ballot measure cited economic concerns as a major issue. The Democrats swept that election, and it was difficult to point to any major race, anywhere, in which Republicans scored a major victory.

The reversal of fortune from a year ago was stark. At the time, voters returned Trump to the White House on the promise that he could quickly bring down inflation, start hiring factories and flood the country with newfound wealth from the heavy tariffs he imposed on US allies around the world.

Instead, voters are now expressing concerns that rising grocery prices, electricity and housing bills are draining their bank accounts. Trump has been defiant in his insistence on boosting the economy, so — regardless of his early reactions — it is not clear that he will internalize the need to confront the same inflationary challenges that became a liability for his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

“People have a 401(k).”

There is little evidence that the public places much confidence in Trump’s claims about an American “Gilded Age,” nor in his emphasis on reducing and subduing inflation. Trump, who recently pressed Americans still concerned about rising grocery prices, pointed to the stock market.

“Look, 401(k)s. People have 401(k)s,” the president said in an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday. Trump said grocery prices are falling, but the latest inflation report shows they rose 2.7% from last year.

Consumer prices overall rose 3% over the past 12 months, higher than the rate before Trump won the 2024 election. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%.

“I don’t think it was favorable to Republicans.”

While the stock market is rising and life is looking good for tech executives with AI investments, hiring has slowed sharply this summer in the wake of Trump’s imposition of his tariffs.

Concern about the economy helped Democrats on Tuesday, an AP Voter poll showed.

Nearly half of Virginia voters said “the economy” was the most important issue, and about 6 in 10 of those voters chose Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, enabling her to win a decisive victory.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mickey Sherrill won by about two-thirds of voters who described the “economy” as the most important issue facing the state. Republican Jack Ciattarelli had about 6 in 10 New Jersey voters saying the most important issue was “taxes.”

He watches: The K-Shaped Economy: Why the Rich Prosper While Most Americans Fall Behind

More than half of New York City voters said the cost of living is the main issue facing the city, and Democrat Zahran Mamdani won by about two-thirds of that group.

Just under half of California voters said “the economy” is the main issue facing the state, and nearly two-thirds of those voters supported Proposition 50. Approval of the measure allows Democrats to redraw congressional maps more favorable to their party in the nation’s largest state and keep pace with Republicans who have moved to add potential new House seats in Texas and elsewhere.

Trump did not actively campaign for his party before Election Day in 2025. As votes continued to be counted, he had already dodged blame, posting that he “wasn’t on the ballot.”

The morning after the election, while hosting Senate Republicans at the White House, Trump was more thoughtful and contemplative. “Last night, it was not expected to be a victory,” he said.

The election has been largely held in districts that have favored Democrats recently, so there are limits to interpreting what the results could mean for broader midterm races next year. But the size of the Democratic margins indicates the degree of frustration with economic conditions under Trump.

“I don’t think that was helpful for Republicans,” Trump said. “I’m not sure it was good for anyone, but we had a fun evening and learned a lot.”

Later, while traveling to Florida, to showcase what he saw as his economic successes to an audience of businessmen and athletes, the president posted another message in which he appeared to be responding to the election results.

While he insisted that “our economy is thriving,” he added that “affordability is our goal.”

It was a departure from last weekend, when Trump threw a lavish “Great Gatsby”-themed “Jazz Age” party at his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, after returning from a luxury-filled trip to Asia.

The Trump administration asserted that the working class would soon benefit — along with the billionaires.

“We’re going to see asset prices rise on Main Street here, along with Wall Street, which we’ve already seen,” Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said this week on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Waters Prime Time.”

In the run-up to Tuesday’s election, Trump focused his messaging on mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally and a push to reduce crime by deploying National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities. But the AP Voter poll found that few of those who cast ballots considered crime or immigration a top priority.

“Our side needs to focus on affordability,” said Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate and Trump ally who is now running for governor of Ohio in 2026. “Make the American dream accessible to everyone. Cut costs, electricity costs, grocery costs, health care costs and housing costs. And figure out how we’re going to do that.”