President has shackled Republicans with 'huge challenge': ex-Trump official

President Donald Trump has shackled Republicans with a "huge challenge" heading into the midterm election cycle, according to a former White House official.

The U.S. labor market has experienced no growth or net private-sector job creation over recent months, despite the 79-year-old president's promises during his 2024 re-election campaign, and former Trump official Marc Short told "CNN NewsNight" that one of his signature policies was at least partially to blame for the sluggish economy.

"I think the presidentwas elected on two primaryissues, the border andaddressing affordability issues," said Short, who was director of legislative affairs in Trump's first term and then served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. "The reality is that action, thelabor jobs, they've actually netnegative since 'liberation day.'"

The president announced his sweeping tariff regime April 2, 2025 – which he dubbed "liberation day" – that lifted prices for importers and retails consumers and dragged down hiring as they passed through the economy, and Short said those trade wars would be a problem for GOP candidates.

"Ithink this is a huge challengefor Republicans heading into themidterms," Short said. "The president has agood story about having made America more, a netexporter of energy, but we'renot insulated from this, and thereality is that prices are goingto continue to go up. This isgoing to continue to ripplethrough [the economy]."

"It's to say this is a short-term pain really sets anexpectation for a lot of Americans that if it's not,it's going to create a biggerand bigger problem come November," he added, "and so I do think thataffordability was one of theprimary issues that he waselected on. I think it'sbecoming a growing and growingchallenge for Republicans in themidterms this November."

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