Commentary Culture Investigations

After the carnage, Democrats currently sit at a 55-seat Senate majority.

Virginia is no longer for lovers.

President Trump’s tariffs, one of the largest peacetime tax increases in history, worsened inflation and just cost Republicans both houses of Congress.
Tariffs are terrible for the economy. They are regressive taxes paid by U.S. consumers and businesses that transfer money from the private sector to the government. President Trump claims his tariffs will raise $600 billion to $1 trillion in revenue annually. That is a huge transfer of money from American businesses, workers, farmers, and consumers to the federal government. President Trump’s tariffs are a shockingly ill-conceived program contrary to decades of Republican policy that remain a self-inflicted wound to his presidency. In striking down most of the 2025 tariffs through Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the United States Supreme Court gave the president a way to save his second term. He did not take it.
As during his first term, many of President Trump’s policies have been wonderful for the economy — most notably deregulation, increasing government efficiency, and making permanent his 2017 tax cuts. Pro–fossil fuel policies have been particularly beneficial for the economy as pretty much every good and service has energy costs embedded in it. Prior to the Iran war, such policies were responsible for reducing inflation and spurring growth. To his great credit, President Trump was getting the government out of the way so that business could grow.
But President Trump’s tariffs have been a drag on the economy that has undercut what would otherwise have been booming growth driven by his other policies. President Trump’s tariffs are to blame for the lackluster performance of the past two years and “affordability” concerns.
Ninety percent of tariffs are passed directly to U.S. importers (Americans) who, in turn, pass at least some of them through to consumers. Tariffs inflate the costs of finished imported products. But tariffs also increase the costs of imported components, such as fertilizer and steel, which are used to grow or manufacture other products, and such cost increases are passed on to consumers. According to an Oct. 6, 2026, study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Trump’s tariffs directly increased the price of consumer goods (excluding oil) by 2.9 percent. The prices of such goods actually would have declined but for tariffs. Imagine how declining prices would have affected the election.
While tariffs and the “affordability” problems they spawned were a drag for Republican candidates nationwide, their effect was particularly damaging in areas with key Senate races. States with significant commerce with Canada such as Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas were particularly hurt by the U.S.-Canada trade war. Regions whose economies depend on agriculture and manufacturing (such as Ohio and Michigan) were hurt by tariffs on fertilizer and metals, respectively. Those relying on exports (including many farm communities) suffered under retaliatory foreign tariffs. Moreover, the on-again/off-again tariffs created uncertainty for businesses and investors.
The failed promises of President Trump’s tariffs are readily apparent. The tariffs essentially had zero effect on the trade deficit in 2025, which saw a deficit of $901.5 billion, versus $903.5 billion deficit in 2024 (a difference of only 0.2 percent). While the 2026 year-to-date trade deficit is smaller than 2025, it is comparable to 2024 and greater than 2023.
Overall, in 2026 inflation outpaced wage growth. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that because wages rose more slowly than prices, average earners saw a reduction of 0.5 percent in their purchasing power in the run-up to election day. While Americans may be willing to pay higher prices in support of a worthy cause such as preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, they are unwilling to pay higher prices for folly.
Tariffs have soured the American people on the Trump presidency. An Oct. 9-10, 2026, Fox News poll of registered voters revealed 70 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, 69 percent disapprove of his handling of tariffs, and 77 percent disapprove of his handling of inflation. Eighty-five percent of registered voters are “extremely” or “very” concerned about inflation and high prices — second only to concern about corruption in government; as opposed to 56 percent concerned about border security and 52 percent about voter fraud. Not surprisingly, 64 percent disapprove of the president’s performance, while only 36 percent approve.
Centralized government control of the economy will always fail as compared to the success of the private sector, whether it is done by a single government or by two countries through a trade deal involving tariffs. Getting into bed with China in a trade deal is no good. To give but one small example of the perils of centralized planning through tariffs: the Trump administration had to provide $12 billion in welfare payments to soybean farmers in 2025 to compensate them for the harm caused by tariffs. (China cut its U.S. soybean purchases from nearly 27 million tons in 2024 to almost none during the summer of 2025 in retaliation for President Trump’s tariffs.) The best tariff is no tariff on either side, and free trade.
For most of the 20th century and this century, Republicans have been the free-trade, anti-tariff party. As President Ronald Reagan famously explained: “You see, at first, when someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while, it works — but only for a short time. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.”
The Republican Party platform from at least the early 1970s until 2016 was proudly free trade and anti-tariff; Republicans had learned the terrible lessons of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. The Republican Party platforms explicitly and correctly opposed tariffs as “detrimental to our economic well-being.”
Conservative pundits who rightfully would have been screaming bloody murder had Biden imposed Trump’s tariffs should be embarrassed by their silence if not complicity in the current tariff debacle.
Absent President Trump’s damaging tariffs, the economy would be humming like a top thanks to his other policies, and Republicans would have sailed to victory in the midterms. The Supreme Court threw the president a lifeline. Sadly, for the country, he failed to take it. Will he now have the wisdom to change course?
John B. Daukas served as principal deputy and acting U.S. assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, 2020-21, and as Chief Counsel for Civil Issues on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2023.

What was relatively new in voters’ palpable rage was the belief that a select few were getting rich off of the American people.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was not, in fact, live on Tuesday, but the eponymous host could see that it was going to be a good night for the blue team. After taking some time to gloat during his monologue, Kimmel welcomed the cast of Pod Save America to strategize about what Democrats should do beginning in January, and the talk naturally led to urging Democrats shut down the government and pursue impeachment if not of President Trump, then Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.During his monologue, Kimmel retorted, “Democrats took so many seats, JD Vance can’t even find one to have sex with him tonight. Trump spent the day at the White House watching coverage, watching Fox News trying to give himself an insurrection. Word from the White House is he’s already ran out of dipping sauce containers to throw at the television set.” Jimmy Kimmel gloats, “Democrats took so many seats, JD Vance can’t even find one to have sex with him tonight.”(1/3) pic.twitter.com/wbaZoFTohs— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 4, 2026 While Tuesday was a bleak night for Republicans, the exception was Florida’s Byron Donalds making history by becoming the state’s first black governor, but for Kimmel, only Democratic historic wins were noteworthy:Trump was reportedly angry and cursing as the reports came in. John Ossoff won the Senate race bigly in Georgia. He had a monster lead. They called that one very early. Also in Georgia, mayor of Atlanta, Keshia Lance Bottoms was up. She’s the first black American female governor in history. James Talarico could become the first Democrat elected in Texas since 1988. He is up by a million with half of the votes counted. That’s the good news. The bad news is Talarico might have to carpool with Ted Cruz in January. It’s all looking good for Democrats. Kimmel also hypes historic Democratic wins, but, of course, not historic GOP wins, “Also in Georgia, mayor of Atlanta, Keshia Lance Bottoms is the first black American female governor in history. James Talarico could be the first Democrat elected in Texas since 1988. He is up by… pic.twitter.com/oS5wR8A1Eo— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 4, 2026 Later, during his conversation with the Pod Save America cast, Kimmel wondered, “He does care about the idea, though, that Democrats are going to be able to look into the nonsense he has been up to and start opening up these — perhaps opening up the Epstein files, we might finally get a look at that. All of the many interesting financial things he and his family are involved in. Like, if you were in Congress, what would be the number one, two, and three things that you guys would do in January when you take your seats?Tommy Vietor urged Democrats to shut down the government and to, wittingly or unwittingly, put American troops in a disadvantageous position, “I would cut off funding to the Iran War before they even took office in December. In December, there will be a funding vote, and Democrats should say, ‘We will not vote to fund the government unless you end the Iran War.’ That’d be number one.”Vietor also insisted that “Number two would be rigorous oversight of everything. I would send out subpoenas on day one. The crypto company. The corrupt deals with the Saudis. Whatever Jared Kushner’s doing. Don Jr.’s company. All of it. Day one.” Later, Kimmel welcomed to the Pod Save America cast to discuss strategy.Tommy Vietor is already agitating for a government shutdown that would harm the troops, “I would cut off funding to the Iran War before they even took office in December. In December, there will be a… pic.twitter.com/D4kchgg9ZN— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 4, 2026 After Dan Pfeiffer urged Democrats to pass legislation and not just conduct investigations, Jon Favreau demanded a complete cessation of judicial confirmations, “Donald Trump’s never going to pass a law again, right. Losing the House, losing the Senate. That’s it. If he loses the Senate too which he is very likely on track to do. Sam Alito retires. Clarence Thomas retires. There’s no more judges from Donald Trump. No more Supreme Court justices. No more federal judges.”Jon Lovett then suggested that impeaching Trump might not be the best political move, so impeaching Hegseth for war crimes would have to do, “You know, there is a lot of debate about whether it is good politics to impeach Donald Trump or impeach Pete Hegseth, but they have committed impeachable offenses, and Pete Hegseth has. He is bragging about extrajudicial killings, bragging about the ways they are not respecting the rules of war, and so I think a debate about whether or not to impeach Pete Hegseth is a pretty good idea to me.”Kimmel conceded that Lovett might be right, but he wasn’t happy about it, “Pete Hegseth, yeah. I would think there is probably some fear because he already did things that were certainly impeachable and warranted being removed from office and that didn’t happen. And, in fact, it seemed to annoy the American public for whatever reason.”There is no way to sugar coat just how bad Tuesday was for Republicans, but if Kimmel and the Pod Bros want Democrats to spend the next two years impeaching officials for non-existent war crimes and taking their anger out on the troops by shutting down the government, they will find that the voters will reject them again in due time.Here is a transcript for the November 3 show:ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!11/3/202611:57 PM ETJIMMY KIMMEL: Democrats took so many seats, JD Vance can’t even find one to have sex with him tonight. Trump spent the day at the White House watching coverage, watching Fox News trying to give himself an insurrection. Word from the White House is he’s already ran out of dipping sauce containers to throw at the television set.…Trump was reportedly angry and cursing as the reports came in. John Ossoff won the Senate race bigly in Georgia. He had a monster lead. They called that one very early. Also in Georgia, mayor of Atlanta, Keshia Lance Bottoms was up. She’s the first black American female governor in history. James Talarico could become the first Democrat elected in Texas since 1988. He is up by a million with half of the votes counted. That’s the good news. The bad news is Talarico might have to carpool with Ted Cruz in January. It’s all looking good for Democrats.…He does care about the idea, though, that Democrats are going to be able to look into the nonsense he has been up to and start opening up these — perhaps opening up the Epstein files, we might finally get a look at that. All of the many interesting financial things he and his family are involved in. Like, if you were in Congress, what would be the number one, two, and three things that you guys would do in January when you take your seats?TOMMY VIETOR: I would cut off funding to the Iran War before they even took office in December. In December, there will be a funding vote, and Democrats should say, “We will not vote to fund the government unless you end the Iran War.” That’d be number one.Number two would be rigorous oversight of everything. I would send out subpoenas on day one. The crypto company. The corrupt deals with the Saudis. Whatever Jared Kushner’s doing. Don Jr.’s company. All of it. Day one.DAN PFEIFFER: At the beginning of the next year a trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts are going into effect. People are going to get kicked off of their food assistance. Rural hospitals are going to close. People are going to lose their health care. Democrats, they can’t make Trump bring them back, but they can put this issue on the table. They can pass bills to reverse that, maybe bring some Republicans along, and put real pressure on him. You have to let the American people know that if you give us power, we are going to do more than investigate Trump. We should absolutely investigate the hell out of him, but we also got to show that — we’re going to do what Trump didn’t do and we’re going to understand the lesson of the election and try to make people’s lives easier and lower prices, give more people health care.KIMMEL: Two things. What’s one more?JON FAVREAU: Donald Trump’s never going to pass a law again, right. Losing the House, losing the Senate. That’s it. If he loses the Senate too which he is very likely on track to do. Sam Alito retires. Clarence Thomas retires. There’s no more judges from Donald Trump. No more Supreme Court justices. No more federal judges.JON LOVETT: You know, there is a lot of debate about whether it is good politics to impeach Donald Trump or impeach Pete Hegseth, but they have committed impeachable offenses, and Pete Hegseth has. He is bragging about extrajudicial killings, bragging about the ways they are not respecting the rules of war, and so I think a debate about whether or not to impeach Pete Hegseth is a pretty good idea to me.KIMMEL: Pete Hegseth, yeah. I would think there is probably some fear because he already did things that were certainly impeachable and warranted being removed from office and that didn’t happen. And, in fact, it seemed to annoy the American public for whatever reason. 

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Sadie Dingfelder, NYT

Olivia Reingold, Free Press Democrats are recruiting tens of thousands to monitor poll sites and report voter intimidation.

A lesson for both Democrats and Republicans pertains to candidate quality. If Democrats had nominated that weasel Alexander Vindman instead of Angie Nixon in Florida, then Republicans would send one less senator to the Capitol. If Republicans had nominated Ralph Norman instead of Darline Graham Nordone, then Democrats would send one less senator to the Capitol. President Trump bears great responsibility for this grim result. In a break with custom, the president imposed himself on state primaries. The candidates he essentially hand-selected — Ken Paxton in Texas, Nordone in South Carolina, Whatly in North Carolina, to name three — failed miserably. The president seems incapable of not butting in. He should, like other presidents, stay out in 2028 until Republican voters choose. In a republic, many people, and not one, knows best.
Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.