BURSTThird Way, a center-left think tank, argued that President Trump needs to be criticized over one of his largest issues: the economy.
“All presidents are vulnerable on the economy but none more so than Trump. He repeatedly pledged, ‘Starting the day I take the Oath of Office, I will rapidly drive prices down, and we will make America affordable again,’” the group said in a new report.
“Voters put up with his antics and the insults because they believed they were going to have someone at the top who understands the economy and can deliver results. Or so they thought,” Third Way wrote.
As Trump passes the 60-day mark of his second term, he’s taken an axe to many long-standing federal agencies, cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs and upending programs both domestically and internationally for cost-saving benefits. He’s also plunged the country into a trade war with his tariff plan.
While protests have begun across the country, the report argues that to most Americans, it may just be noise. Democrats must separate “the signal from the noise” and show the public how Trump campaigned on economic promises that he has yet to deliver.
“Amid dozens of red flashing lights on the economy, there is a clear signal for policymakers: Democrats must be relentless in assigning blame for the Trump Slump,” the group said in the report, first reported by Semafor.
The report pointed to Trump’s inability to predict if a recession is headed for Americans. It comes after Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump’s tariff plan would be “worth it,” even if it led to a recession.
Third Way pointed to the effects Americans are already feeling from Trump’s economic policies, including stagnant retail sales, a dropping stock market and tariff concerns.
“As the pain inflicted by their actions starts to hit working families, Democrats must make Republicans own the Trump Slump,” the report concluded.