President Trump has given Democrats so much ammunition in so many policy areas that it’s tempting for us to respond incoherently. That may be his plan.
His one big ugly bill will deprive millions of Americans of medical care and food. The president has abused his constitutional power to launch an attack against Iran. He has terrorized millions of immigrants who came to the land of the free to seek political freedom and economic opportunity. His Supreme Court has terminated longstanding legal doctrines that guaranteed abortion rights and political liberty for all of our citizens
These grievances are all good reason to end Trump’s reign of terror, but not the best way of stopping him and MAGA before they do even more damage. His handling of the economy got off to a bad start and will only get worse as his economic policies take full effect.
The economy shrunk in the first quarter of 2025. This was the first quarterly contraction in three years. Trump’s Achilles Heel is his failure to bring prices down on Day One of his second term as he promised during the 2024 campaign. One of the best pieces of advice that a Democratic strategist has ever given any candidate was James Carville’s admonition to Bill Clinton that “it’s the economy, stupid.”
To take Trump and MAGA down, Democrats must take the less sexy route and focus like a laser beam on his failure to keep prices from going up. That means talking about the price of eggs instead of the rule of law. The cost of living is a concrete overcoat for hard-working and cash-strapped families. The rule of law is an abstract concept you can’t use to feed your kids.
The authorities never nailed Chicago gangster Al Capone for murder, gambling, prostitution or bootlegging, but the feds put him out of business for tax evasion — not dramatic but highly effective.
The November 2024 national exit poll illustrates the challenge that Democrats must confront on the economy. Trump (81 percent) had a four-to-one edge over Kamala Harris (18 percent) with people who indicated that their vote was based on the economy. The GOP presidential candidate actually beat his Democratic opponent among voters in households where the income was under $50,000 a year. These low-income voters were once the bedrock of the New Deal and the winning Democratic coalition. Franklin Delano Roosevelt must be spinning in his grave.
The upset win for Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary offers a template for electoral success. Michelle Goldberg wrote in the New York Times that, “Mamdani won because of his relentless focus on affordability and our quality of life, and his ebullience, optimism and authenticity.” Hopefully, his win will start a trend that will bring victory to Democrats and progressives for years to come.
Democrats can link Trump’s failures in several policy areas to his devastating record. His draconian deportment of immigrants working in construction and on farms will raise home and food prices even higher. Trump’s attack on Iran could destabilize the Middle East which almost always brings higher gasoline prices. Attacks on his hurtful actions to deprive millions of Americans of food and medical care must always include the kicker that the president is executing these outrages to pay for tax cuts for bankers, billionaires and fat cats and plutocrats.
To keep the MAGA rot from spreading, Democrats and progressives need message discipline. That’s difficult since we’re free spirits by nature — Republicans fall in line while we fall in love. The only way to slow MAGA down is for Democrats to win the House in 2026. Then we can end the Trump regime with a Democratic presidential victory in 2028. The best way to win is to focus like a laser beam on the sorry state of the Trump economy.
We need a progressive administration that values Dreamers more than deportation, diplomacy over violence and freedom over fascism. Beating Trump on the economy is the key to ending destructive MAGA immigration and racial policies and building a Supreme Court that will preserve our civil liberties.
Brad Bannon is a national Democratic strategist and CEO of Bannon Communications Research which polls for Democrats, labor unions and progressive issue groups. He hosts the popular progressive podcast on power, politics and policy, Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon.
