The economy was the main reason cited by Trump supporters when asked why they voted for the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. The Republican Party is keenly aware of this fact. Trump’s campaign rallied across the nation with the slogan, “Trump will fix it”, a clear reference to the economic challenges that right-wing leaders blame on the Biden administration. But how realistic is this cornerstone of Trump’s platform? Nothing portends particularly well at the moment.
Contrary to popular belief, the problem with the US economy is not growth. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the economy has consistently expanded since the second quarter of 2022, even amid post-COVID and Russia-Ukraine war volatility. Biden’s administration created millions of jobs. Despite these positive indicators, the average American remains deeply concerned about the economy. Why? Because they feel the tangible effects of rising costs. Basic goods have become more expensive, that much is true. Prevailing inflation is, however, not an exclusively American reality but a worldwide phenomenon. Meanwhile, household debt has become a survival strategy for many families. If the economy is thriving, why are Americans struggling to make ends meet? A chronic issue that politicians like Trump often overlook gives a sense to this contradiction: the lack of redistribution.
Everyday middle-class family experiences reveal how rising prices for goods and services have strained household budgets since the pandemic. Inflation post-pandemic significantly eroded purchasing power as wages failed to keep pace. Inflationary pressures peaked between April 2021 and April 2023. Since May 2023 inflation has declined, and many American households have recovered much of their pre-pandemic purchasing power. Despite these improvements, Republicans successfully portrayed Biden as the face of the economic crisis, ignoring the global post-pandemic challenges he inherited and worked to address. For many, Biden’s name became synonymous with inflation. But is Trump equally committed to middle- and working-class families? The answer is no.
The “American Dream” has long been associated with the ability to amass wealth — often in reality at the expense of working classes. Not even Democrats are excluded from feeding into this corrupted ideal. Trump’s economic agenda for his second term champions this flawed dream, but not for ordinary Americans — only for those already wealthy. His proposal to replace the income tax system with increased import tariffs would disproportionately hurt low-income citizens. Many experts, both liberal and conservative, agree that dismantling taxes is virtually impossible. However, Trump’s alternatives, such as tax cuts or exemptions for tips and overtime earnings, would reduce public funds and encourage tax evasion, as individuals could manipulate classifications to avoid paying taxes. Eliminating income tax as we know it would destroy the progressive tax system, exacerbate wealth inequality and undermine efforts to redistribute wealth.
The world has already witnessed and suffered Trump’s protectionist policies, particularly in Europe and China. Weakening the tax system while increasing import tariffs is a double-edged sword that will do more harm than good. Trump argues that foreign businesses would absorb these costs, but this claim is dubious given the US government’s limited control over private enterprises. Companies prioritise profit, not societal well-being. Faced with higher tariffs, businesses would inevitably pass costs on to consumers, further burdening the working classes. Additionally, higher tariffs would reduce import volumes and likely provoke retaliatory taxes on US exports. This would diminish the competitiveness of American firms in global markets. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Trump’s economic plan would raise taxes on low-income Americans, provide a tax break to the wealthiest, and sharply increase the public deficit. With declining revenue from taxes, imports and exports, the US economy would edge closer to chaos.
Under Trump’s administration, middle- and low-income families would likely continue to see their purchasing power eroded by ineffective economic measures. Trump has a habit of taking credit for economic growth while blaming external forces when things go wrong. Immigrants, particularly Latinos, often become his scapegoats for issues like inflation, public deficits and income instability. There’s a particular tragedy in watching a nation turn against immigrants — the very workers who built its foundations. When a society forgets its history and shifts blame to the vulnerable, it inches closer to radicalisation and hate. Led by a man who plays dress-up and puts on a show at McDonald’s to appear as though he’s 'casually mingling' with working class Americans, the US political landscape has devolved into cynical theatrics.
The US economy’s greatest challenge is not its growth trajectory but its inequitable distribution of wealth and opportunity. Trump’s proposed policies would deepen this divide, benefiting the wealthy while leaving middle and working class families further behind. For all his promises to fix the economy, Trump’s track record and proposals suggest otherwise. If the US is to address its economic struggles, it needs solutions that prioritise fairness, redistribution and genuine support for all Americans — not just the privileged few, and certainly not billionaires like Elon Musk, now anointed as co-leader of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
Image: Flickr/The White House (Shealah Craighead)
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