Donald Trump’s return to the White House was built on promises to restore prosperity, lower living costs and keep the United States out of distant wars. But the results described in a column by Marcos Augusto Gonçalves went in the opposite direction, contributing to major Republican losses in the midterm elections.
Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate, suffered defeats in traditionally conservative states and saw candidates backed by Trump lose. The column links those results to voters’ frustration with the economy, particularly the cost of living. It says Trump’s shifting tariff measures raised the cost of imported goods and materials used by American businesses, rather than delivering the promised relief.
Foreign policy also undercut Trump’s “America First” message, according to the column. He had pledged to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza quickly, but the United States became involved alongside Israel in a conflict with Iran. The resulting disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for global oil, drove up fuel prices and added to transport and other costs.
Polls conducted on Tuesday, November 3, indicated how central prices were to voters: nearly nine in ten respondents considered the cost of living an important or decisive factor in their vote, and two-thirds held Trump responsible for high prices, the column reports.
Gonçalves also points to opposition to Trump’s political approach, describing his government as marked by ongoing confrontation, challenges to limits on presidential power and intimidation of immigrants. The article cites the election of Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms as Georgia’s first Black woman governor and Abdul El-Sayed as Michigan’s first Muslim senator, while noting that New York had already elected Zohran Mamdani mayor. It presents those outcomes as contrasts with Trump’s exclusionary rhetoric, rather than proof that voters have embraced a new Democratic agenda.
The column concludes that anti-Trump sentiment helped drive the Republican defeat and says the outcome will have consequences at home and abroad. In its view, Trump remains president of the world’s most powerful nation, but the losses have weakened his standing as a leader with popular backing.
Sources: Folha Poder.