January 17, 2026 - 4:00pm
Donald Trump was returned to office in 2024, promising a second act that would deliver on the economic populism at the heart of MAGA. On the campaign trail, he talked a good game about lowering costs on everything from housing, utilities, groceries, airfare, and cars.
One year into his second term, however, a new CNN poll suggests the honeymoon has ended. A majority of Americans say Trump’s policies have made them economy worse off, and nearly two-thirds believe he hasn’t done enough to lower everyday prices. This isn’t just a complaint emanating from the Left. Even among Republican voters, the verdict is the same: he’s not delivering enough on the economy.
It’s more than just a handful of economic factors that he’s not delivering on. Firstly, the gap between rhetoric and reality in the energy sector is especially stark. During his campaign, Trump made a characteristically bold pledge: he would slash energy and electricity prices by half within 12 to 18 months. Yet, as we move into 2026, utility bills continue their ascent, rising faster than Americans’ paychecks as households are paying nearly 10% more in 2025 than the year before, outstripping both wage growth and inflation. That includes a 27% jump in parts of Arkansas, and a 33% jump for 167,000 electric customers in Missouri — both in deeply Republican parts of the country.
The story is similar with credit cards. Even up until last week, Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of capping interest rates, a proposal that united him with economic populists on the other side of the aisle, such as Bernie Sanders or AOC. That cap has yet to materialise. Even the much-vaunted “pro-family” wing of the new Right seems to have been short-changed. Despite the rhetoric about reversing the decline in the birthrate by incentivising parenthood, the Child Tax Credit saw a meagre increase from $2,000 to $2,200. The new “Trump Account” pilot programme offering a one-time $1,000 payment to children born between 2025 and 2028 is welcome but hardly transformative, especially given that child care costs have skyrocketed by 185% since 2020.
So it goes with the rest of the economy. Grocery and car prices remain high, while financing costs remain punishing. The economy may look fine from 30,000 feet, when you’re looking at the stock market or a well-padded 401(k), but most Americans won’t experience the effects of that. This is a sharp contrast with the first year of Trump’s first term in 2017, when job growth was strong and low-wage workers saw real gains.
This explains the collapse of support among young people. This demographic, perhaps the most sensitive to the price of rent and groceries, was the surprise engine of Trump’s 2024 coalition. A recent poll found that Trump had an abysmal 29% approval rating among Americans under 30. In general, what voters, young and old, see in Trump’s second term is a governing style heavy on punishment and performance, light on material improvement.
Deportations, executive threats, and rhetorical escalations dominate the news cycle. These may thrill the base, but they do not lower anyone’s bills. For many voters, even among MAGA, Trumpism in practice is starting to look less like populism and more like Reaganism with meaner tweets — and they’re drifting away. They want fewer sticks, more carrots.
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