The Atlantic's Yair Rosenberg wrote Thursday that President Donald Trump's voters are starting to notice that his promises during the 2024 election aren't manifesting.
" Trump never meant to keep his promises. His voters are starting to notice," wrote Rosenberg after Trump announced that families must make do with less.
Trump announced at a Cabinet meeting that children may have fewer presents during the holiday season.
“Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally,” the president said.
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Rosenberg recalled Trump's Aug. 2024 rally in Montana: “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods,” he promised.
Just a few days later, Trump claimed, “They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast."
However, as Rosenberg explained, those promises can't "be reconciled" with his pledge to impose tariffs on consumer goods. At one point, Trump called "tariff" one of “the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard."
The Bulwark's Will Sommer characterized it as the "MAGA Fyre Festival," a reference to the disastrous "luxury" music festival that was heavily promoted but failed to deliver.
"These two pledges could not be reconciled, and once elected, Trump was forced to choose between them," wrote Rosenberg. "The results have disillusioned many of those who voted for him."
He cited CNN polling analyst Harry Enten, who noted just how far underwater Trump's polling is on an issue where he once reigned supreme.
"By pursuing populist protectionism over free trade," Rosenberg noted that Trump has "betrayed" some of his biggest donors. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos donated $1 million to the inauguration committee and paid $40 million to license and distribute a documentary on Melania Trump. Amid the tariff increase, Amazon is facing "rising prices on many of its products."
The oil and gas sector is another world where Trump garnered support in 2024.
"In 2024, oil and gas interests gave an estimated $75 million to elect Trump," wrote Rosenberg. Trump promised to "drill, baby, drill." The tariffs have hit oil and gas hard, however. The higher costs of components add to the "cratering ... price of oil amid an anticipated economic downturn."
Rosenberg closed by saying that after the first 100 days of Trump's second term, his "approval rating stands at a historic low, imperiling his party’s chances in the midterms, as more and more of the president’s backers realize that his impossible promises were never meant to be kept."
