A prominent political analyst was riled by President Donald Trump's latest gift to Democrats, which he argued has been misconstrued by the mainstream media.
Democrats swept several high-profile races, including the governor's offices in New Jersey and Virginia, during last week's elections, largely by centering affordability in their policy and messaging platforms. Some analysts have argued that the results show Democrats "figured out" how to discuss affordability, a claim that MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes argued misconstrues the state of the economy as a "symmetrical issue" between Republicans and Democrats.
Hayes discussed the issue on a new episode of "The Bulwark Podcast" with host Tim Miller.
"This has been driving me crazy, so let me just rant on this," Hayes said. "You're like, 'Wow, the Democrats figured out an affordability message.' They're not the incumbent party. This is not a symmetrical issue for the party that has the White House and the party that doesn't."
The defeats that Democrats handed Republicans revealed that Trump has "lost his mojo" with voters on key policy issues, Hayes argued.
"Inflation is out of control. I can't afford anything. Try running on that when you're the party associated with incumbency and the status quo," Hayes continued. "Like, wow, they really figured it out. Everyone's saying Donald Trump really seems to have lost his mojo on this. Yes. Because he's now responsible. This is not rocket science."
If people are upset with the economy or they think inflation's high, the incumbent party is in rough shape and the challenging party is in better shape," he added.